Grieving mom wants answers after son with severe autism falls to death at day program center in Oceanport
A mom who has devoted her life to advocacy for autism now finds herself in the middle of a nightmare.
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On April 15, her son Justin McCafferty was found dead outside of the Fort Monmouth Day Program after a fall.
Three weeks later, her grieving family still has no idea what led to Justin’s death.
Kim McCafferty’s son Justin was full of life.
“This is maybe our second or third trip to Disney and we’re holding hands, and he’s just thrilled. He loved to go to the beach, and we loved to take beach walks together,” said Kim while showing off photos of Justin and his family.
Being on the severe end of the autism spectrum, Justin required constant supervision. Kim enrolled him at Fort Monmouth Day Program two years ago.
After dropping him off on April 15, she received a call from Monmouth Medical Center that her son was in trouble.
“I knew we were not going back to where the patients were, and I knew we were going to the room, and the room is where they tell you the person you love is dead,” she said.
Later, Kim learned from Oceanport police the few details surrounding his death.
“The detective said, 'I’m so sorry I need to tell you a few hours after you’re finding out your child is gone that he died from a fall,'” said Kim.
Because so little information has been released, Kim’s not even sure if Justin fell out of the third- story window or fell off the roof.”
The McCaffertys hired Daryl Zaslow, a wrongful death lawyer, who is now suing the Fort Monmouth Day Program for $35 million.
“You go from the sense of disbelief to anger,” said Zaslow. “The answer should be right there. There should be cameras. There should be cameras on a lot of places here.”
Kim wants to continue with her advocacy work for families of autistic loved ones but for now, she wants answers. Her husband was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s four years ago, and her 19-year-old son had to leave his freshman year of college early to cope with the death of his brother. Justin would have turned 23 on May 12.
“It’s Mother’s Day Sunday, my 30th anniversary Monday and his birthday Tuesday, so I’m not really looking to keep it together for the next few days,” said a tearful Kim.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Oceanport police are investigating the death. The Fort Monmouth Day Program did not respond to News 12's requests for comment.
