ST. LOUIS — Johnetta Doss knows what darkness feels like.
“I was suicidal,” she said. “I didn't want to live anymore.”
It’s how she felt after the five children she had on earth became four.
“She was shot in the back of the head, so she didn't even know it was coming,” she said of her daughter, Carieal, who was gunned down when she was 18 years old in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood in 2020.
Soon, she said she felt like she was being kept in the dark by the Victim Services Unit in St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office.
“No one would call and tell me anything,” she said. “I had to go online, and I had to watch her case like a hawk.
“There were times when they cancelled the court date, and I didn't know it. I had taken off work to come,” she said.
She’s one of many victims who have contacted 5 On Your Side with similar complaints throughout Gardner’s administration.
Now, victim advocates who have resigned from Gardner’s office are coming forward. They say if victims feel like they’re being kept in the dark, then it’s because they are.
Johnetta Doss said she is happy the advocates are speaking out.
“People hear from us, but they may look at it like, ‘Is that really true?’” she said. “I am blessed that they are speaking up, that they are speaking out because people need to hear it."
“People need to know what is going on and how we are being treated,” she added.
Payroll records show Gardner’s office had seven people assigned to the unit as of April 28 – half of what advocates say were there less than a year ago.
Gardner’s spokeswoman responded to the I-Team with a statement, which read in part:
“The CAO has a dedicated and hard-working Victim Services team and it works cooperatively with attorneys to keep victims updated. As there are in many industries, we have openings in Victim Services, but it is being led by the dedicated staff member with more than 25 years of experience in our office.”
Former advocates speak out
The I-Team spoke to two former advocates who resigned before the Missouri Attorney General filed a lawsuit to remove Gardner from office in February.
Neglecting to notify victims about the status of their cases are among the numerous allegations the attorney general has said shows Gardner is willfully neglecting her duties.
The advocates did not want to be identified because they still work in the advocacy field but contacted the I-Team following reporting about the dwindling number of attorneys in the office.
“As we see less and less attorneys in that office, more and more roles and responsibilities are going on support staff,” one of the advocates said.
“We were not just advocates, but we were paralegals, we were investigators, we helped the attorneys fill parts of their roles, and we were receptionists, too,” another advocate said.
That’s why stories like Doss’ don’t surprise them.
“I don't blame them for feeling kept in the dark,” an advocate said. “I don't blame them for feeling angry. “I would, too.”
In Missouri, the Victim’s Bill of Rights guarantees victims be notified of changes to their cases, have their voice heard and be involved in whatever the disposition of the case may be, according to the advocates.
“That’s not happening,” one advocate said.
For Doss, the most shocking thing was seeing Gardner’s office dismiss murder charges against her daughter’s alleged killer after two years of waiting for a trial.
The suspect’s attorney confirmed he filed a motion to dismiss the charges with prejudice after proving Gardner’s office did not disclose evidence, he says points to another man charged in another murder just four days after Carieal’s death.
Before a judge could rule on that motion, Gardner’s former Chief Trial Assistant Marvin Teer dismissed the charges citing a “lack of evidence,” according to documents obtained by the I-Team.
“You drop my daughter's case as if she was just a piece of trash,” Doss said, wiping tears that continued flowing throughout her hour-long interview. “My child wasn't a piece of trash.
“How do you drop a murder case? How do you not turn in evidence? How do you go two years without turning in evidence and have no explanation behind as to why you didn't turn it in? It’s injustice. My daughter needs justice.”
The advocates the I-Team interviewed said it’s possible Doss’s advocate – or even the prosecutor on the case -- didn’t know that was happening.
Advocates would sometimes learn cases had been dismissed weeks after it happened – not because anyone told them it was happening so they could inform victims.
“It was not uncommon for Kim to ignore the thoughts of the attorney who had handled the case from the beginning,” one advocate recalled. “It was not uncommon for Kim to ignore what a victim wanted to see happen with the case.
“That was then left on the advocates and the attorney on the case to go to that victim and their family and say, ‘We don't know why, she's not giving us a clear answer. We know you didn't want this outcome. We swear we fought for you and we are just as confused and frustrated as you are.’”
Gardner’s response to criticism
Gardner’s statement also characterized Victim Services as a “top priority” for her.
“In fact, under circuit attorney Gardner’s administration the office:
- Started to provide services to victims before charges were issued
- Provided counseling to victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence
- Placed a physical office in the warrant office to make contact with victims earlier in the process,” according to the statement.
The advocates the I-Team spoke to say the office within the warrant office hasn’t been staffed for months. The counselor is paid for by a grant the Victim Services Unit applied for, and provides services to all victims, not just sexual assault and domestic violence.
“Bottom line is that the Circuit Attorney’s Office can have all these great programs and ideas in place, but without proper staffing, it’s null and void,” one advocate said.
Race and reform
Gardner has repeatedly said criticism of her office has been rooted in racism and political enemies who do not believe in her reform-minded approach to the office.
The advocates said they joined the office because they, too, believe in reform – but that’s not what’s happening.
“I think in an effort of reforming, she forgets the victims involved in the case,” one advocate said. “I very much support reforming the criminal justice system on all fronts.
“But we cannot reform a prosecutor's office and just leave victims by the wayside.”
Race also entered hiring decisions.
“I was actually told that I had a higher chance of being hired because I was not white,” one advocate said. “In some aspects, I do understand it, they want somebody that can relate to the people that they're looking to for support."
“But at the same time race isn’t everything. Race isn't a qualification and I do believe that sometimes in that office, race takes precedence over qualification and passion.”
Johnetta Doss has heard Gardner’s racial accusations. She’s a Black woman, too.
“Everybody can't be experiencing the same thing,” Doss said. “So let's not make this a race issue."
“Let's not make this a Black and white thing. Let's make this a ‘You do your job.’ This isn’t a Black and white thing to me. This is a human race, people thing.”
Concerns about cases in Diversion Program
Sometimes cases would be referred to Gardner’s Diversion Program, which is supposed to connect people with services and resources instead of jail time, without a victim’s knowledge or input, the advocates said.
“There were cases that some of us questioned, ‘Should this be going through Diversion?’” one advocate asked. “Sexual harassment cases and domestic violence cases, which is very concerning."
“If you are somebody who is familiar with the cycle of violence or has been in a situation like that, you know domestic violence typically escalates.”
Eventually, the stress became too much for the advocates we spoke to stay – a decision that still haunts them, especially when they see victims like Doss’ story.
“It was just a blatant disrespect for victim’s rights,” one advocate said. “They're forgotten. They're ignored. They don't get closure or justice."
“I would say that goes for both sides. Defendants would sit in jail for years without any movement on cases. Victims are left constantly retraumatized by the fact that they know nothing is happening.”
The man originally charged with Carieal’s murder remains in jail for an unrelated armed robbery charge involving a 74-year-old victim. His attorney, and circuit attorney hopeful David Mueller has filed a motion to dismiss those charges as well, citing the circuit attorney’s failure to turn over evidence in that case dating to 2018.
Judge Clinton Wright has given Gardner’s office until May 18 to turn over 911 recordings, a police report and other dispatching records.
Two prosecutors who have resigned from Gardner’s office – one of whom left three years ago – are listed as the attorney of record on the case.
Doss said she’s not afraid of him getting out of jail if that case falls apart, too.
“My concern is for the safety of others,” she said.
The advocates are still concerned for the victims they left behind.
“I want the victims and survivors to know that so many of us wish that we could have stayed in that office to continue fighting for you,” one advocate said, wiping away tears. “We hope that eventually you will get the type of office that can put you first.”
Gardner has announced she will be resigning June 1. Gov. Mike Parson will have to appoint a replacement.
Gardner’s expected resignation is a light from that darkness Johnetta Doss has found. She’s hopeful her daughter’s case will get refiled and go to trial.
“It's like God is weeding out all of the old and bringing in the new to clear out all of that mess,” she said. “And now we have to start over from the bottom and we have to build back up to where it needs to be. I'm very hopeful.”