The lawsuit says Ellipsis failed to protect Kathleen Galloway-Menke before a resident shoved her outside the Johnston facility.
JOHNSTON, Iowa — The daughters of Kathleen Galloway-Menke have sued the youth home where she worked, alleging the facility failed to act before a teenage resident shoved her to concrete in May 2024, causing fatal head injuries.
The wrongful death lawsuit adds a new civil case to a death that already led to a guilty plea in Polk County. Jovahn Karhim Deon Mathis, who was 15 at the time, pleaded guilty in 2025 to voluntary manslaughter and other charges tied to the assault. The lawsuit claims Ellipsis knew Mathis posed a danger to staff but did not move him to a safer placement or give workers enough protection.
Galloway-Menke, 50, worked at Ellipsis, a youth services facility in Johnston, when the incident happened on May 8, 2024. Court records and public statements say Mathis walked away from the facility and headed toward traffic. Galloway-Menke stepped in to stop him from entering the roadway. Soon after, Mathis shoved her, causing her to fall and strike her head on concrete. She was hospitalized for about a week before she was taken off life support. Her daughters, Chloe Williamson and Camille Menke, later said staff had warned that Mathis was not in the right setting.
The lawsuit claims Ellipsis had notice of Mathis’ behavior before the fatal encounter. It says he had shown violent conduct toward Galloway-Menke and other female staff members and had made threats before the incident. The filing also alleges broader safety failures at the facility, including chronic understaffing, inadequate security and communication devices that were not working or were unavailable. The family says those failures allowed Mathis to leave the campus and placed Galloway-Menke in danger while she tried to bring him back. Ellipsis has said it cannot comment in detail because the lawsuit is pending.
Police and prosecutors initially handled the case in juvenile court, but the charge was later amended to second-degree murder. Mathis eventually entered a plea to voluntary manslaughter under an agreement that reduced the main charge. He also pleaded guilty to several misdemeanor counts linked to assaults on officers who responded after the incident. At his plea hearing, Mathis said he had been in a state of extreme anger when he left the group home and shoved Galloway-Menke. Prosecutors said the plea was meant to create the longest period of accountability possible under the facts and evidence in the case.
The civil filing seeks damages for medical expenses, burial costs, loss of support and other harms tied to Galloway-Menke’s death. It also seeks punitive damages, arguing the facility and its leaders failed to respond to known risks. No trial date in the lawsuit has been reported. The claims remain allegations unless proven in court. The criminal case is farther along, but Mathis has not yet received a final adult sentence because he is being handled as a youthful offender.
Galloway-Menke’s death drew attention to safety concerns at youth residential facilities and the risks faced by workers who supervise young people in crisis. Her daughters have described their mother as someone who cared about helping children, even in difficult settings. They also have said the outcome left them torn because the criminal charge was reduced from second-degree murder. Williamson said the plea felt as if it minimized her mother’s death, while Menke said she had been ready for a trial on the higher charge.
Mathis is scheduled for sentencing on July 31, 2026. Until then, the civil lawsuit against Ellipsis continues, and the family’s claims about staffing, security and prior warnings remain before the court.
Author note: Last updated June 28, 2026.