Manitoba mother ends lawsuit claiming child welfare failed to protect slain daughter

WINNIPEG – The mother of a 17-year-old victim in a mass slaying in Manitoba has discontinued her lawsuit against a child welfare agency that she claimed failed to protect her daughter. 

Juliette Hastings filed the suit in October 2024 against Winnipeg Child and Family Services, as well as the General Child and Family Services Authority and the director of Child and Family Services. 

She alleged they were negligent in their duty to protect her daughter, Myah-Lee Gratton.

Court documents filed last month show Hastings asked to withdraw the suit. 

“The plaintiffs wholly discontinue this action on the defendants,” said the notice dated Oct. 22.

Hastings, her lawyer, government lawyers and the General Child and Family Services Authority did not respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit alleged that the home the teen was staying in Carman, southwest of Winnipeg, wasn’t properly vetted or investigated after Myah-Lee expressed concerns for her safety. 

On Feb. 11, 2024, police found Myah-Lee and four others dead at the house and in the surrounding area. 

Ryan Manoakeesick faces five counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Myah-Lee along with his common-law partner, Amanda Clearwater, 30, and the couple’s three children — Bethany, 6, Jayven, 4, and two-month-old Isabella Manoakeesick. 

A judge-alone trial is scheduled for April.

Court records show Manoakeesick struggled with a methamphetamine addiction, and had anxiety and depression, as well as other mental-health issues. 

The lawsuit also alleged Manoakeesick had a history of physical violence and instability. 

Myah-Lee, who received services from the child welfare agency, had been staying with Manoakeesick and Clearwater since April 2023, the lawsuit said.

It alleged there was a violent physical altercation between Manoakeesick and Myah-Lee on October 2023 and that Child and Family Services was notified. 

Hastings and her daughter made multiple requests for the girl to be moved from the home, said the suit, but no changes were made.

The lawsuit alleged Myah-Lee’s death was “a direct result of gross negligence and inaction by the defendants,” as the authority failed to complete a proper home study and ignored warning signs that the teen was in danger.

In a statement Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Manitoba government confirmed a notice of discontinuance was filed but didn’t provide more details. 

Bruce Curran, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law, said there are a few reasons for a notice of discontinuance but generally it’s because the plaintiff doesn’t want to continue with the lawsuit. 

Curran, who has no knowledge of the Hastings lawsuit, said other reasons can include financial strain, emotional stress, or — in rare cases — a settlement, which sometimes requires a plaintiff to formally withdraw the claim.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2026.