Noah Cuatro: LA County board approves $20M settlement with family

$20M settlement reached in Noah Cuatro's death

A landmark $20 million settlement has been reached in the Palmdale boy's torture and death.

PALMDALE, Calif. - The LA County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $20 million settlement of a lawsuit filed by relatives of 4-year-old Noah Cuatro, who died in July 2019 at the hands of his parents. 

What we know:

Evangelina Hernandez, the great-grandmother of Noah, filed the wrongful death suit against the county in July 2020 on behalf of Noah's 6-year-old sister and two brothers, ages 5 and 11, criticizing the actions of employees of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

In December, Hernandez's attorneys filed court papers with Pomona Superior Court Judge Christian Gullon notifying him of a "conditional" settlement with the county that is subject to approval by the county Claims Board and the Board of Supervisors.

No terms were divulged at the time, but the county Board of Supervisors agenda for Tuesday's meeting states that the settlement is $20 million.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement after the board's unanimous vote that Noah's death prompted changes in the county's child welfare system, including improvements to the Department of Children and Family Services.

"The death of Noah Cuatro was a heartbreaking tragedy," Barger said. "While nothing can undo the harm he suffered, today's $20 million settlement provides some measure of support to his surviving family. Noah's life was not in vain. His case has reinforced the need for ongoing review of child welfare cases, stronger partnerships with our schools, and a stabilized child welfare workforce to better protect children in the Antelope Valley. Noah leaves behind a legacy -- he will not be forgotten."

Parents sentenced for murder 

The backstory:

In April 2024, Jose Maria Cuatro Jr. was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison, and Ursula Elaine Juarez was sentenced to 22 years to life for their son's July 2019 death. 

Cuatro pleaded no contest on March 29, 2024, to one count each of first-degree murder and torture, and Juarez pleaded no contest to one count each of second-degree murder and torture.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Noah Cuatro: Parents sentenced for murder, torture in death of Palmdale boy

Noah's parents originally reported a drowning in their family pool in the 1200 block of East Avenue St. in Palmdale on July 5, 2019. Noah, who was just 4-years-old, was taken first to Palmdale Regional Medical Center and then to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

The boy's injuries later raised suspicions about how he died. Medical staff found the trauma he had suffered inconsistent with drowning.

Parents of Noah Cuatro sentenced for murder, torture of child

The parents of Noah Cuatro were sentenced Tuesday to potential life prison terms for murder and torture charges in his July 2019 death.

Siblings subjected to abuse 

In an amended complaint brought in 2023, the plaintiffs' lawyers stated that new information was obtained in February and March of that year showing that Noah's siblings also were subjected to abuse and neglect by Jose Cuatro and that county workers breached their mandatory duty to report their "reasonable suspicion" of such conduct.

In late March 2023, the oldest of the siblings told Evangelina Hernandez that he was often forced by Jose Cuatro to "physically fight and beat up" Noah, the plaintiffs' attorneys stated.

The same sibling also told Matthew Hernandez that he and Noah were always hungry, that he saw his parents slapping his surviving brother in the face when he was an infant, that he observed his parents fight a lot and that he was "scared of his dad because he would beat him up" by punching him and hitting him with his belt, the plaintiff's lawyers stated in their court papers.

The boy said he also saw Jose Cuatro hit Noah and the other two siblings, according to the amended suit.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 

• Noah Cuatro: Siblings also allegedly abused by parents
• DCFS failed to remove 4-year-old Noah Cuatro from home despite court order, attorney says

In February 2023, county social worker Lizbeth Hernandez Aviles testified during a deposition about the alleged abuses of Noah's siblings, stating that the property manager of the Cuatro apartment told her he heard crying from outside the unit and that there were "concerns over domestic violence" between the parents, according to the amended complaint. Aviles also testified that the Cuatro home had no beds or mattresses in the bedroom where the children slept, only a mattress in the living room, the revised suits stated.

Aviles also testified that the home had a foul odor and that when she entered it was "cluttered and filthy" with trash on the floor and countertops, according to the amended suit, which alleged that Aviles had an obligation to report her suspicions that Noah's siblings were also being abused.

Death occurred after reports of abuse documented   

His death occurred after multiple reports of abuse had already been made to the DCFS, according to the suit.

"Instead of protecting Noah and his siblings, DCFS continued to place the children with their abusive parents, where the children continued to be abused over the course of several years," the suit alleged.

After Noah's death, social workers made threats against Evangelina Hernandez "in an attempt to silence her," the suit alleged. They allegedly told her that if she made any public statements about Noah's case and/or potential lawsuits, she would lose her request for guardianship of her other three great-grandchildren and would never see them again.