The agony that must have accompanied the final hours of Diane “Princess” Ramirez’s short life clearly haunted the prosecutors.
After a judge tossed out the second-degree murder charge against Michelle Morris Kerin — foster mother to the severely disabled who refused to call 911 to get the child help, despite express instructions to do so — Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Maureen DuMouchel promised to gather more evidence and refile charges.
On Thursday, Dec. 7, prosecutors made good on that promise and upped the ante considerably.
A criminal grand jury indicted Morris Kerin once again, this time on 15 felony counts including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, willful child cruelty, willful cruelty to dependent adults likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and lewd or lascivious acts with dependent adults by a caretaker, “with the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying the lust, passions, and sexual desires of the said defendant and the said dependent person,” the indictment states.
This time, her husband, Lawrence Kerin, was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter along with her. Lawrence Kerin now faces nine felonies, including willful child cruelty, willful cruelty to dependent adults and lewd or lascivious acts with dependent adults by a caretaker, also “with the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying the lust, passions, and sexual desires of the said defendant and the said dependent person.”
Both pleaded not guilty. Public Defender Brian Cosgrove declined further comment.
Was it murder?
Morris-Kerin had been on the radar of officials for years, beginning in Orange County in the 1990s, shortly after she opened her foster home for severely disabled children.
Officials asserted that Morris-Kerin suffered from Munchausen by proxy, a behavior disorder in which caretakers exaggerate children’s health problems and subject them to unnecessary or inappropriate medical treatment, according to records. A state-funded school for the disabled children at her home lost its license after investigators concluded children were taped to wheelchairs and found other oddities.
Morris-Kerin sued over the Munchausen assertions, won a settlement, then moved her business to Riverside County to escape what she called “persecution” in O.C.
There, fragile children were placed in her care for years, even as Riverside officials received allegations that things were amiss. Foster homes for disabled children are quite hard to come by, and Morris-Kerin had a fearsome reputation as quick to sue when things didn’t go her way. Licensing files show complaints continued, including allegations that an adult in the home had inappropriate interactions with a minor, that a client’s personal hygiene needs were going unmet, that parents weren’t allowed to visit their children, that a child in a wheelchair was left in a bedroom closet unattended. Many complaints, however, were found to be inconclusive because the children involved were nonverbal.
Ramirez was 17 when she was placed in the Morris-Kerin home for what was supposed to be a short stay while her parents regrouped. Ramirez had cerebral palsy, seizure disorder and other challenges — but nothing dampened an indomitable spirit and mischievous sense of humor. She’d place fake spiders in her locker to scare the teachers who helped her open it. She saw her elaborately staged “prom-posal” to football quarterback Jeff Miller make the TV news. She was a junior assessed at grade level at Murrieta Mesa High School, and asked to be moved out of Morris’ care before that fateful night in 2019.
Ramirez had been ill. She had gone to the emergency room vomiting blood. She was stabilized, and foster mom Morris-Kerin was told that if Ramirez began vomiting blood again, the girl must return to the emergency room immediately. When Ramirez did fall ill again days later, Morris-Kerin refused to call 911 and insisted the girl would be fine, according to a county report.
Ramirez spent an agonizing night moaning, her vital signs fluctuating, her skin cold to the touch, according to the report. She died on April 6, 2019, of “volvulus,” a twisted intestine that cut off blood supply to her bowels.
But is that murder?
Riverside Superior Court Judge Timothy F. Freer threw out the murder charge in April 2022, saying the District Attorney’s office failed to present convincing evidence that Morris-Kerin’s inaction substantially contributed to Ramirez’s death.
“The evidence established by experts was, in general, volvulus can be treated by surgery, and the sooner the better,” the judge said then. “There was no evidence that the volvulus that afflicted Diane was one that could be treated, or one that would have been fatal no matter what.”
That’s the missing piece the D.A. has apparently been pursuing. The indictment’s witness list includes at least seven doctors, but it’s unclear exactly what the new evidence is and if it will be enough to persuade the judge to let the murder charges stand.
‘Lascivious conduct’
One of the sexual abuse of dependent adults charges involves Ryan Morris, one of the disabled foster children Morris-Kerin adopted — over the vehement objections of his biological family. Ryan Morris has the intellectual abilities of a young child, but Morris encouraged him to marry a man of regular intelligence, 18 years his senior, and promised him a cell phone if he agreed, according to court documents.
After battling Morris-Kerin and Ryan Morris’ husband for years, Ryan Morris’ biological aunt finally got legal custody of him in May. He lives with her in San Juan Capistrano.
Another sexual abuse charge appears to reference the marriage of an adoptive brother and sister once under the care of Morris-Kerin and her husband. The appropriateness of that marriage was an issue as Morris battled to keep guardianship of them after she surrendered her foster care license in the wake of Ramirez’s death.
In a petition to probate court, Morris-Kerin denied “any illegal, inappropriate, or wrongful treatment” of the married brother and sister. She also denied the two were “profoundly developmentally delayed.” “Their performance in the classroom, aided by assistive technology devices, made it clear … neither were cognitively delayed. Morris-Kerin admits they were married. Four days before their wedding, APS (Adult Protective Services) interviewed them, and reported that, via their communication devices, they had convinced APS that marriage was appropriate,” the petition said.
Morris-Kerin and her husband have been released on their own recognizance, with bail to be posted by Dec. 15, the D.A.’s office said. Prosecutors requested $50,000 bail for Morris-Kerin and $35,000 for Kerin. Prosecutors also issued criminal protective orders to prohibit Morris-Kerin and her husband from communicating with the alleged victims. Both are to return to court for a trial readiness conference at the Southwest Justice Center on Jan. 26.
The new case against the couple is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys DuMouchel, Natasha Sorace and Kasey Sutton of the DA’s Office Special Prosecutions Region.
Ramirez’s parents are suing Riverside County, with an eye to ensuring nothing like this happens again.