Five suspects indicted in Debrodie case

Carl DeBrodie
Carl DeBrodie

Five Fulton residents have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Carl DeBrodie, whose decomposed body was discovered last year.

DeBrodie was 31 years old when his remains were found dumped in a Fulton storage unit on April 24, 2017. He was a developmentally disabled resident of Second Chance Homes, a care facility at 298 Claymine Drive in Fulton tasked with and paid to give him a home.

A grand jury indictment was unsealed and the five defendants were taken into custody early Tuesday by Fulton police and Callaway County sheriff's deputies, according to a news release from Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson.

"Four of the suspects were located in Fulton, and the other was located near Steedman," said Sheriff Clay Chism. "All five suspects are being held at the Callaway County Jail on criminal charges."

The five were arrested on state charges, and include:

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Sherry Kuuipo Paulo, 53, indicted for:

The class D felony of client neglect for allegedly neglecting DeBrodie between Aug. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016, by failing to provide services that were reasonable and necessary to maintain his physical and mental health, which presented an imminent danger to his health, safety or welfare.

The class C felony of first-degree involuntary manslaughter for allegedly recklessly causing DeBrodie's death by failing to obtain emergency medical services for him while he was suffering a medical emergency while in her care.

The class D felony of abandonment of a corpse, as the defendant was an employee of Second Chance Homes of Fulton and was responsible for the care of DeBrodie, a client. The indictment states Paulo knowingly disposed of the corpse of DeBrodie at a storage unit at 527 S. Westminster in Fulton without properly reporting the location of the body to law enforcement.

Two counts of the class A misdemeanor of making a false report of a missing person, as on April 17 and April 21, 2017, Paula allegedly knowingly made a false statement a Fulton police officer in a report for a missing person.

The warrant issued for Sherry Paulo ordered that she be held with no bond.

Anthony Raymond Flores, 58, indicted for:

The class D felony of client neglect, as between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31, 2016, Flores allegedly neglected DeBrodie by failing to provide services that were reasonable and necessary to maintain his physical and mental health.

The class C felony of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, as Flores allegedly recklessly caused DeBrodie's death by failing to get him emergency medical care during a medical emergency and while in his care.

The class D felony of abandonment of a corpse, as Flores was an employee of Second Chance Homes responsible for DeBrodie's care and allegedly knowingly disposed of DeBrodie's corpse at the storage unit without properly reporting the location of the body to law enforcement.

Two counts of the class A misdemeanor of making a false report of a missing person, as on April 19 and April 24, 2017, Flores allegedly knowingly made a false statement to Fulton police officers in a report for a missing person.

The warrant issued for Flores ordered that he be held with no bond.

Anthony Raymond Kaulana Flores, 32, indicted for two counts of the class A misdemeanor of making a false report of a missing person, as on April 17 and April 19, 2017, Flores allegedly knowingly made a false statement to Fulton police officers in a report for a missing person.

The warrant issued for Anthony R.K. Flores ordered that he be held with bonds set at $2,000, cash only, per count, for a total of $4000.

Shaina Alisha Osborne, 29, indicted for the class A misdemeanor of making a false report of a missing person, as on April 19, 2017, Osborne allegedly knowingly made a false statement to a Fulton police officer in a report for a missing person.

The warrant issued for Osborne ordered that she be held with a bond set at $3,000, cash only.

Mary Kuuipo Paulo, 34, indicted for the class A misdemeanor of making a false report of a missing person, as on April 19, 2017, Paula allegedly knowingly made a false statement to a Fulton police officer in a report for a missing person.

The warrant issued for Mary K. Paulo ordered that she be held with a bond set at $2,000, cash only.

The indictments were issued March 30 by a 12-member grand jury comprised of Callaway County residents, Wilson said.

"I made the decision to keep the indictments sealed until I was fully satisfied that proceeding with the state criminal charges would have no negative impact on the federal investigation and/or potential prosecution of federal criminal charges," Wilson said. "Based on my ongoing discussions with federal prosecutors, it is my belief that we reached that point and I asked the Court to unseal the indictments and issue arrest warrants for the five defendants."

Wilson said he has agreed not to pursue certain state criminal charges against these defendants, as well as other suspects in the investigation, to avoid interference with any federal criminal charges related to health care fraud that may be brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. He said he cannot comment on the federal investigation or possible federal charges.

"To avoid any conflict of interest, I requested that the Missouri attorney general serve as special prosecutor to review the investigation with respect to the actions of the Callaway County public administrator and any employee in that office," Wilson said. "The Missouri attorney general accepted that appointment, which was ordered by Judge Sue Crane on Feb. 6, 2018. The Fulton Police Department then provided a copy of the investigation to prosecutors in that office."

Wilson said his office will continue to work with the DeBrodie family and their attorney and thanked them for their patience during the long investigation and initiation of criminal prosecution.

"I would also like to thank the men and women of the Fulton Police Department, particularly Chief Steve Myers, for their hard work on this difficult and complex investigation and their patience while awaiting the decisions of state and federal prosecutors," Wilson added. "They have demonstrated incredible professionalism in the face of considerable unfair criticism."