Teacher Fired From Clinic After Autistic Boy’s Death

The teacher of Barth Pico, a 14-year-old autistic boy who died of asphyxiation on May 1 after being restrained at the Fairview Developmental Center in Huntington Beach, has been dismissed from her job for “misutilization of techniques,” a center administrator said Wednesday.

Jeanne Warnecke was fired on May 29 after a state investigation of her conduct, according to Louis Serrao, Fairview’s clinical director.

According to Huntington Beach police, Barth began misbehaving on the school bus that took him to his classroom at Gill Education Center. In the classroom, Warnecke, 32, put socks on his hands to keep him from scratching and tied a diaper around his head to limit his vision. Pico then was rolled in an exercise mat, whereupon the teacher sat on him. The youth stopped breathing and was taken to the hospital, where he died three days later.

It was also learned Wednesday that an investigation into possible criminal charges has been reopened by the Orange County district attorney’s office.

On May 21, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard F. Toohey found “insufficient evidence to support any criminal homicide prosecution.” At the direction of Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks, James Enright, the chief deputy, has been ordered to reopen the investigation to determine whether there was any criminal negligence involved in subduing Barth.

The decision was criticized by Warnecke’s attorney, Paul Meyer. “I firmly believe that the district attorney’s office didn’t take a quick look at his case,” he said. “They took a long, considered and reasoned approach in making their (original) decision.”

Enright acknowledged that “every day we receive some correspondence directed to us regarding the case” and that after the initial investigation “there were a great deal of inquiries made to our office.”

It was in part as a result of this concern, Enright said, that the district attorney “asked me to review our original decision regarding the case.”

Enright said the details of the incident make it “kind of tricky” to determine whether there was any criminal conduct. He said he “assumed” that his office would be able to get a copy of Fairview’s internal investigation of the incident.

Could Need Subpoena

Serrao, however, said that it was his “opinion” that because the 10-page report dealt with an on-going personnel matter it could not be released without a subpoena.

The investigation may be further delayed because if sworn testimony is required, the current Orange County Grand Jury is approaching the end of its session and a new jury may not be empaneled until July.

“Obviously, this is an emotional issue,” Meyer said, “and I mean on both sides.”

The lawyer said that Warnecke had also received a large amount of mail and many phone calls from around the country. He characterized the response as “a great deal of support.”

He said Warnecke would appeal the dismissal at a hearing at Fairview.

Meyer said Warnecke believes that “once all of the information comes forward that her dismissal will be reversed and that she will be reinstated.”

Warnecke “was deeply saddened by the death,” Meyer said, adding that “her approach to this incident was reasoned and observed by administrators and nurses as well. She’s an expert in the field.”