Madison Totzkay
Madison Totzkay was 14 when she died on October 14, 2019, at the Wolverine Secure Treatment Center, a secure juvenile facility in Buena Vista Township, Michigan. Her mother, Jennifer Totzkay, has filed a lawsuit alleging that the center and four employees were negligent in failing to prevent Madison's suicide, saying staff did not keep her under constant watch and did not conduct timely bed checks. The family's attorney, Gregory Wix, calls her death an avoidable tragedy. Police and center staff determined the death was a suicide, and staff were said to have found her during evening wellness checks, while Wolverine has said it cannot comment on the open litigation and has opened an internal review of its policies.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). Madison's mother's lawsuit, filed by Fieger Law and attorney Gregory Wix, alleges Wolverine and four employees were negligent by not keeping her under constant watch and not doing timely bed checks before she died.
Reported by: Buena Vista Township police and Wolverine Human Services staff (the agency that held her); Jennifer Totzkay's lawsuit (Fieger Law, attorney Gregory Wix) (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her mother sued Wolverine Human Services and four employees over her suicide at the Wolverine Secure Treatment Center, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.