The family of a woman who was murdered is suing a local parole officer they say failed to take her fears seriously or warn her that her ex-boyfriend was out of custody.
Makayla Adams, 20, was fatally stabbed in her Las Vegas home in September 2022, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, Michael Ricks.
The two previously lived together in the San Diego area, but Adams moved into her parents’ home in Las Vegas while Ricks was incarcerated.
According to the lawsuit filed Friday in San Diego federal court, Ricks was released on parole to a probation facility in Vista in the summer of 2022 on behalf of the couple’s daughter.
The lawsuit says that Adams and the parole officer assigned to her ex-boyfriend discussed her fears that Ricks would kill her and their daughter, “due to numerous threats to do so that were made by Mr. Ricks.”
She moved into her parents’ home “to be as far as she could from Mr. Ricks” and the parole officer reportedly promised that he would notify Adams if Ricks left the community program in which he was placed, so that she could “take herself and her child to a place of safety.”
He did not.
The lawsuit states that Ricks left the community program without authorization on Sept. 13, 2022, and although the parole officer was notified of this, he did not tell Adams or her parents.
It goes on to say that because of the parole officer’s “promises and assurances,” Adams “believed she was safe staying with her parents rather than in a confidential location such as a women’s shelter. His promises and assurances served to affirmatively create a danger to Makayla that she otherwise would not have faced.”
Ricks then allegedly drove to Las Vegas, killed Adams, and then fled to San Diego, where he was arrested the following day.
City News Service contributed to this report.
