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Also: Judge Drops Worcester Charges
EMILIE ASTELL
Courtesy Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER -- Julie Ann Barnes' surrogate mother yesterday praised a judge's decision to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against the young woman.
Deborah King, speaking by phone from her home in Ellsworth, Maine, said the ruling by Superior Judge Timothy S. Hillman was encouraging.
“It's a miracle when I think back to where we started and where we are now,” she said.
Judge Hillman also dismissed charges of involuntary manslaughter against Thomas S. Levesque of Worcester. Ms. Barnes and Mr. Levesque had been living in the vacant Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building when it caught fire Dec. 3. Six city firefighters were killed fighting the fire.
Mrs. King and her husband, Timothy King, are the legal parents of Ms. Barnes' younger sister, Jennifer, whom they adopted when she was a toddler.
The Kings also are close to gaining foster custody of Ms. Barnes' 3-month-old son, Joshua, who was born in June while the young woman was being held in prison awaiting trial. Mr. Levesque is believed to be the father of the child.
Mrs. King expects to gain custody of Joshua in two or three weeks. The Massachusetts Department of Social Services is in the final stages of approving the baby's placement, she said.
“We've made a lifetime commitment to her and her sister,” Mrs. King said of Julie and Jennifer. “You just can't go in and get one part of it. This tragedy has given Julie a second chance at life and people to watch over her.”
The Kings arrived home yesterday from a city managers' conference to learn of the judge's ruling. Their daughter, Nancy, told Ms. Barnes, 20, that the charges against her had been dropped.
“I don't know if she will be able to really believe it,” said Mr. King, town manager of Ellsworth, Maine, “but she's always believed that the court situation would have a good ending for her.”
The Kings headed a drive to raise the $25,000 bail for Ms. Barnes, who was released in July from the state prison in Framingham. Her bail had been reduced from $75,000.
During the past two months, Mr. King said, Ms. Barnes has displayed a gentle nature with a wit distinctly her own. She likes the band 'N Sync and gets along well with Jennifer.
But Ms. Barnes is developmentally disabled and has the maturity level of a 12-year-old, he said. The Kings and Maine social workers are preparing Ms. Barnes for a new job as a housekeeper at a nursing home beginning Monday.
The Kings would not let Ms. Barnes speak on the telephone to a reporter because of the possibility that Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte would appeal the ruling.
But while Mrs. King was on the phone, Ms. Barnes could be heard talking in an animated voice.
“She's excited about her new job,” Mrs. King said.
While she has lived with the Kings, Ms. Barnes keeps in contact with her biological mother, Evelyn Menard of Rutland.
Ms. Menard said yesterday she is pleased that the charges against her daughter were dropped. She has no problem, she said, with the Kings gaining custody of her grandson.
Mr. Levesque's lawyer, Edward P. Ryan Jr., said he would recommend to his client that the Kings have custody of Joshua.
“Everybody needs to realistically appraise what's in the best interests of the child,” Mr. Ryan said from his car phone.
DSS spokeswoman Carol Yelverton declined comment on Joshua's future.
After Judge Hillman made his decision, Mr. Ryan drove to the Worcester County Jail in West Boylston to have his client released. Mr. Levesque, he said, had tears in his eyes as he said “thank you” to the lawyer. He had been held on $250,000 cash bail.
Mr. Levesque's parents, Margaret and Gerard Levesque of Worcester, met their son at the jail.
“They had a tearful reunion,” Mr. Ryan said. “His mother gave him a hug. His father was crying.”
Mr. Ryan said he explained the judge's decision to Mr. Levesque, 37, in very simple terms. Mr. Levesque then changed from prison garb into pants, a shirt and shoes that Mr. Ryan had brought along.
The two left jail grounds in Mr. Ryan's car while sheriff's deputies barred a Boston television crew and a reporter from entering jail property.
“He's still overwhelmed by the events and the tragedy,” Mr. Ryan said of his client.
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