Arizona
‘They failed us’: Arizona mother demands accountability after son’s death in DCS custody
MESA, AZ — Serious questions are being raised about the Arizona Department of Child Safety after newly released records show a 15-year-old boy died in DCS custody while living at a Mesa group home.
Christian Williams, 15, is now the second child with Type 1 diabetes to die in the state’s care. The second child to be allowed to refuse his insulin, the lifesaving medication he needed to live, according to police reports and a state incident report.
“They failed us,” said Christian’s mother Bobbie Williams.
911 call from group home came too late
The call for help happened two months ago and haunts the Williams family.
“What’s going on?” the 911 dispatcher asked the woman who made the call from the group home.
“Yes. I have a youth that’s refusing insulin or refusing medical help. Won’t go anywhere. Now he’s making weird noises on the floor,” the employee said.
“He’s making a scene. Now he’s acting like he’s like dead on the floor,” the group home staff later told the 911 dispatcher.
The call for help was ultimately too late to save Christian’s life.
“They could have called sooner,” said Bobbie Williams.
Christian was found unconscious inside the Mesa group home where he was living, according to the police report.
“They assumed because he has behavioral issues that he was faking,” said Christian’s father, DeForrest Williams.
“And he was seeking attention,” said Bobbie.
But records show they were wrong.
Police body camera video shows response
Body camera video obtained by the ABC15 Investigators details the Mesa police and Mesa fire response.
The video brings into question whether the group home’s employees were properly trained to manage Christian’s diabetes.
“So now he’s pretending he’s dead on the floor,” a female on scene told the Mesa officer.
The group home employee then told the Mesa officer, “He’s fine. He’s holding his breath.”
But once officers and paramedics get inside, the situation escalates.
The video shows Christian is unresponsive. Paramedics must physically carry him out of the bathroom where he was found.
“We need to get his heart pumping,” a paramedic said on the body camera video.
According to the Mesa police report: “Christian’s lips appeared to be blue, and his eyes were barely open.”
“Paramedics began conducting chest compressions after it was discovered he was not breathing,” the report states.
“It’s very hard for me to watch those videos and to read what happened,” said Bobbie.
Christian died at the hospital a few days later on July 10, 2024. The medical examiner ruled his cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis, a preventable condition caused by not having enough insulin.
“I lost my baby. He was my firstborn. I’ll never get him back,” said Bobbie. “We trusted the Arizona Department of Child Safety.”
Christian struggled with mental health
Christian lived with his parents his whole life, except the last seven months. As Christian got older, he started struggling with mental health. His family turned to the Arizona Department of Child Safety for help.
“We were told that they had more resources than we were able to do ourselves,” said DeForrest.
“He was in their care,” said Bobbie, while holding back tears. “And I beat myself up every day for making that decision.”
Incident report shows DCS knew group home had concerns
The state incident report from Catalyst Community Corporation, the group home where Christian was living, only amplifies the family’s anger and frustration.
The report says weeks before Christian’s death managers at the group home held an emergency child and family team meeting with DCS where they said Christian was, “in need of a higher level of care due to his medical concerns and mental health. While the team was in agreeance [agreement], there was no progress on making these changes.”
“How could you?” said DeForrest.
It was also the second time in two weeks, records show, Christian needed emergency care for his diabetes while living at this group home.
“I said … what’s it’s going to take for my son to die?” Bobbie said. “And then two weeks later we get that call.”
Another child with Type 1 diabetes died in DCS custody
The ABC15 Investigators have previously reported on the death of Jakob Blodgett, 9, who died just 18 days after being placed in DCS custody.
Jakob was a Type 1 diabetic, and he died in December of 2022. Records show he was also allowed to refuse his insulin, the lifesaving medication he needed to live, while at another group home contracted by the state.
Senator T.J. Shope, R-Casa Grande, demanded accountability and answers following ABC15’s reporting into Jakob’s death.
“Why didn’t you learn the first time? Why didn’t you change then? Why does it have to be another child?” said Bobbie.
It’s the Arizona Department of Child Safety’s job to protect the state’s most vulnerable children and DCS pays group homes to take care of kids like Christian.
Attorney files notice of claim
Attorney Robert Pastor has filed a lawsuit against DCS and the group home in Jakob’s case.
“This is the Department of Child Safety, and they’ve lost sight of the children and the concept of safety.”
Pastor now also represents the Williams’ family and recently sent DCS and the group home a notice of claim, which is the precursor to a lawsuit.
The claim alleges, “The Arizona Department of Child Safety has a pattern and practice of placing children in foster care settings that pose an unreasonable risk of harm.”
“It’s utter disgust. Like, ‘you did this again, what is wrong with you?’” said Pastor.
Under the state’s contract and license with Catalyst Community Corporation, administrative rules state a group home must “ensure that each child in care receives all prescribed medication at the prescribed time and in the prescribed dose.”
“Instead, they sat there and said, ‘oh, he’s faking it.’ And they were dead wrong. Unfortunately, that meant Christian died,” Pastor said.
For more than a year, ABC15 has asked DCS what changes have been made to prevent another tragedy. But DCS has refused to answer that question, citing the pending litigation.
“Here are two kids who are dead. What are you doing? Do we need a third?” said Pastor.
The Williams family is sharing their story because they want DCS to change and make sure no other family has to go through their pain.
“It’s not fair for a mother to go to a graveside and eat her lunch with her son,” Bobbie said while crying.
DCS launches investigation after Christian’s death
DCS responded to ABC15’s reporting and said the agency shares in the grief the family is experiencing over Christian’s tragic loss.
“At times, children come to us experiencing escalated medical and behavioral crises. Our team of providers work hard to address the child’s medical and behavioral health needs,” a DCS spokesman said in a statement.
The agency also said:
“In response to this tragedy, the Department is currently investigating this incident as well as reviewing licensing rules to determine if anything different can be done to better understand and care for youth facing extreme health challenges.”
DCS said the results of the investigation will be publicly available once complete.
ABC15 is committed to finding the answers you need and holding those accountable.
Submit your news tip to Investigators@abc15.com
ABC15 reached out to Governor Hobbs and requested an on-camera interview to discuss this failure within her state agency but the interview request was declined.
“As a social worker, I worked directly with children like Christian in the hopes of giving them a better life. This experience has guided my work throughout my career,” Governor Hobbs said in a statement. “As Governor, I continue to be committed to protecting the health and safety of all Arizonans, especially vulnerable children like Christian, and every child in DCS care. I am heartbroken by Christian’s story and extend my full condolences to his family and loved ones.”
ABC15 called and sent multiple emails to the group home administrator but did not hear back by our deadline.
Have a tip for the ABC15 Investigators? Email Investigator Jennifer Kovaleski at jennifer.kovaleski@abc15.com.
Read DCS’ full statement below:
“We share in the grief his family is experiencing over Christian’s tragic loss. At times, children come to us experiencing escalated medical and behavioral crises. Our team of providers work hard to address the child’s medical and behavioral health needs.
We have many rules in place to guide providers who care for our children. You can find them here. [apps.azsos.gov]
In response to this tragedy, the Department is currently investigating this incident as well as reviewing licensing rules to determine if anything different can be done to better understand and care for youth facing extreme health challenges.
The Department is committed to strengthening our partnerships with the provider community, including our medical, behavioral health, and contracted providers. We are dedicated to learning from these tragedies and making any necessary improvements to enhance care and safety. Through our robust Multidisciplinary Review Process, we strive to foster collaboration, ensure continuous learning, and improve outcomes for Arizona’s children and families.”
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The University of Arizona men’s basketball team closes out their historic season after losing to the University of Michigan in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats had a tremendous season, breaking program records and earning several different recognitions and awards.
Over the course of the season, the Wildcats dominated with a 36-3 run, breaking the program record for most wins in program history. Previously, this record was 35 wins during the 1987-98 season.
Many of Arizona’s players were recognized for their outstanding work during the season. Notably, senior Jaden Bradley was named Big 12 Player of the Year. Freshman Koa Peat and Bradley were selected to the West All-Region team. Peat also earned the Most Outstanding Player across the western regionals. Another notable recognition was Bradley and freshman Brayden Burries earning All-American honors.
Head coach Tommy Lloyd also received lots of well deserved praise for the way he led this team. He was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year. After much discourse during the coaching carousel and the possible coaching job at the University of North Carolina, Lloyd recently agreed to a five-year contract extension with Arizona.
Regular Season Dominance
Right off the bat, the Wildcats showed promise in their team. The Red-Blue showcase was a great introduction to the team and demonstration of their talent for this upcoming season. As many predicted, they dominated in the preseason matchups against Saint Mary’s College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, blowing both teams out of the water.
Arizona continued to exert this dominance in their non-conference start to the season in November against tougher opponents. Their first competition was against the reigning NCAA Champions, No. 3 University of Florida, in Las Vegas. The Wildcats took the win 93-87, which was just the start of what was to come. Koa Peat made his college debut with a bang and proved he was a force to reckon with. Peat recorded 30 points on his debut, which also turned out to be his career high. When Arizona took the win against Florida, this was eye opening for a lot of people about the promise and talent that this team had to offer.
They had a close call against UCLA about two weeks later, taking the victory by a mere 4 points, 69-65. Arizona jumped significantly in the rankings since playing Utah Tech, where they were ranked No. 13, to taking the No. 5 spot. They only continued to climb in the AP rankings, inching up one position at a time. They were ranked No. 4 when they took the victory against No. 3 University of Connecticut, who won the national championship back in 2024. This win was just five days after they beat UCLA.
The Wildcats jumped right past the No. 3 spot after the UConn victory to the No. 2 spot as they took on the University of Denver, Norfolk State University and No. 20 Auburn University at home. After these three games, the Wildcats hit double digits and were holding a 10-0 record.
Christmas came early for the Wildcats as they grabbed the No. 1 spot in the AP polls in early December before playing No. 12 University of Alabama. Arizona held the No. 1 spot for nine consecutive weeks, which broke the program record that was previously held at eight weeks. They closed out their 2025 by adding four more victories to their roster, along with that No. 1 position.
After a notable regular season run, the Wildcats established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. They became the first team in AP Poll history to beat five ranked teams in their first nine games.
Undefeated Conference Run
The Wildcats began their new year and conference season on the road as they took their first Big 12 victory, 97-78, against the University of Utah. The following Wednesday, the Wildcats returned home for their first conference game in the McKale Center to face another team of Wildcats, Kansas State University. They blew them out of the water, taking a 101-76 victory. Throughout the course of the season, Arizona had 17 wins where they took the victory by 20+ points.
They continued asserting their dominance on both their home court and on the road. The first rivalry game of the season against ASU was a close one, but Arizona came out unscathed taking an 89-82 win. The Wildcats picked up three more wins against the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University before heading back to Utah to take on No. 13 BYU.
This was a close victory with the Wildcats beating the Cougars 86-83. The Arizona freshmen met their match with BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, who was a contender for the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, but still is uncertain if he will enter the portal this season. Dybantsa recorded 24 points for the Cougars while Burries lead the Wildcats with 29. The Wildcats pulled through with a late rally to take the victory and remain undefeated in their season.
The Wildcats closed out January with another win against the school up north but this time in enemy territory. Following their game against ASU, Arizona took a victory against Oklahoma State University at home. This marked the Wildcats’ 23rd win, which was an Arizona program record, as well as achieving the best start in Big 12 history. Arizona and the University of Miami Ohio were the remaining undefeated teams at this point in the season.
Looking forward to their next game, they were taking on No. 9 University of Kansas on their home court. The Jayhawks handed Arizona their first loss of the season in a hard fight. Kansas was able to maintain their perfect home record on Big Monday, going 39-0 under head coach Bill Self. Going into this game, Arizona knew it would be a tough one as Kansas had home court advantage, but they also possess dominant freshman and veteran players. They were led by Flory Bidunga and Melvin Council Jr., who each collected 23 points.
After this loss on Monday, Arizona looked forward to their next home game against No. 16 Texas Tech University on Valentine’s Day. Not only was it a special day because it was Valentine’s Day, but it was also ESPN’s College Gameday, where 14,688 fans sold out the McKale Center to watch this nationally televised spotlight on the Wildcats.
This was the fifth time that Arizona has been the host, with the last time being in 2022. It was also the first time that a game was played in the new McKale Center at ALKEME Arena after the announcement of a 15-year naming rights partnership between Arizona Athletics and ALKEME Insurance. During this game, Arizona also honored former Wildcat guard Caleb Love who was welcomed into the Ring of Honor with a ceremony at halftime.
The Texas Tech game was a nailbiter, with the lead changing 11 times and having 11 ties. The game eventually went into overtime after Ivan Kharchenkov shot late free throws, but unfortunately the Red Raiders were too strong and took the win 78-75. JT Toppin collected 31 points and 13 rebounds while Christian Anderson recorded 19 points and six 3-pointers for Texas Tech. Arizona fought until the end and put up a good fight with both Burries and Tobe Awaka scoring in double figures.
Because of these two back-to-back losses, Arizona took a fall in the AP rankings from No. 1 for nine consecutive weeks to No. 4 as they prepared to take on No. 23 BYU for the second time this season.
Arizona managed to get back in the winning column to close out the rest of their season taking on some familiar faces like BYU and No. 14 Kansas for the second time this season, as well as new ones. They took victories against No. 2 University of Houston, Baylor University, No. 6 Iowa State University and University of Colorado, Boulder to round out the season. They managed to get redemption against Kansas and avenge their first loss of the season with a 20+ point victory margin 84-61 at home.
They secured the Big 12 regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed heading into the Big 12 Tournament.
Big 12 Champions
After the Wildcats closed out their conference season against Boulder with another victory, they looked towards the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. Arizona was the No. 1 seed and automatically advanced to the quarterfinals, where they took on No. 8 seed UCF. It was a clean sweep victory 81-59 to advance to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, they faced No. 5 seed Iowa State for the second time this season. Bradley cemented his name as the Big 12 Player of the Year after shooting a 3-pointer buzzer-beater to win the game and send Arizona to the finals. The Wildcats won 82-80 in a crazy finale.
Arizona faced No. 2 seed Houston in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament before stamping their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after a close win 79-74. This was the first time that Arizona has won the Big 12 Championship title since joining the conference back in 2024.
March Madness
Because of their pure dominance throughout the season and the Big 12 Tournament, Arizona was the No. 1 seed in the western region for the NCAA Tournament. All of Tucson buzzed with excitement over the start of the tournament, and most people made their brackets with Arizona taking the victory at the end of it all.
They headed down to San Diego for the first round of the tournament, where they played against No. 16 seed Long Island University. They took their first victory of the tournament with over a 30-point margin.
Later that weekend, Arizona advanced to play No. 9 seed Utah State University to finish out their weekend in San Diego. This was another victory to add to Arizona’s roster with the Wildcats’ winning 78-66.
Arizona returned home to Tucson, where they were greeted by loving fans showing their support upon their arrival to McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. They had a quick turnaround, though, as they were headed up to San Jose for the second round of the tournament. That Thursday, they took on No. 4 seed University of Arkansas in the Sweet 16.
In this matchup, Arizona showed strong offense with both Burries and Peat scoring 21 points, Kharchenkov scoring 15 and Bradley, Awaka and Motiejus Krivas tallying 14 points each. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight after a 109-88 victory over Arkansas. This was their first appearance in the Elite Eight since 2015.
The Elite Eight matchup was against No. 2 seed Purdue University. Arizona got off to a slow start, letting Purdue take the lead for the majority of the first half and going into halftime. The Wildcats made a strong comeback in the second half to come out with the 79-64 victory taking them to the Final Four for the first time since 2001.
Arizona was heading to Indianapolis for the Final Four where they were set to play the No. 1 midwestern seed University of Michigan. Arizona fans migrated to the midwest to support their Wildcats as they ended the 25 year drought since they had played in the Final Four. Unfortunately, this game did not go as the Wildcats had hoped. They were unable to find their rhythm against Michigan’s tough defensive strategy with their strong offense and high shooting percentage.
Arizona fell to Michigan 91-73 in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament. Though they did not win it all after a very tough game, this does not diminish everything this team has done this season and everything they have done for the Arizona basketball program. This team will stand as one of the greats and did the Arizona and Tucson community proud on the national stage.
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