Sasha Avonna Bell, the 19-year-old mother who was the first among dozens to sue over the Flint, Mich. water crisis was murdered last week. Bell, and another woman were found shot to death inside a Michigan townhouse.
MLive Reports:
Sasha Avonna Bell was one of the first of a growing number of people to file a lawsuit in connection to the Flint water crisis after she claimed that her child had been lead poisoned.
Bell was found dead April 19 in the 2600 block of Ridgecrest Drive at the Ridgecrest Village Townhouses. Sacorya Renee Reed was also found shot to death in the home.
An unharmed 1-year-old child was also found inside of the Ridgecrest home when Bell’s body was discovered and was taken into custody by child protective services. Police declined to confirm if it was Bell’s child discovered in the home.
Avonna’s attorney, Corey M. Stern, described her as a “lovely yon woman who cared deeply former family, and especially her young child.”
Bell’s case was one of 64 lawsuits filed on behalf of 144 children by Stern’s firm, New York-based Levy Konigsberg, and Flint-based Robinson Carter & Crawford.
The lawsuit named six companies that had various responsibilities with respect to the treatment, monitoring, and safety of the Flint water prior to and during the Flint water crisis, according to her attorneys. The case also named three individual government, or former government, employees who played significant roles in the alleged misconduct that led to the alleged poisoning of thousands of children in Flint, her attorneys claim.
Police have already made an arrest in the double homicide, while Bell’s family launched a Go Fund Me account to cover funeral expenses. The tragedy comes days after the sudden death of 43-year-old Flint Water Treatment Plant Foreman Matthew McFarlan. Ironically, McFarlan’s passing followed the news that a Flint Utilities Manager faces criminal charges for allegedly tampering with evidence in the public health catastrophe.
When quetioned at a congressional hearing last month Michigan governor, Rick Snyder, essentially blamed everybody else for the water crisis.
President Obama is expected to travel to the Flint this week.
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Photo: screencap
