When a Chewelah mother was found dead in her home in 2020, her son Benjamin Richmond was charged in her homicide. Now, her other son, Zachary Richmond, is suing Frontier Behavioral Health for allegedly failing to follow up with his brother when he stopped taking his medications, causing a mental health episode that led to her killing.
The lawsuit, filed last month, alleges Benjamin Richmond was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a history of not taking his medication. He also had a history of violent attacks on his mother, 51-year-old Kimberly Richmond, the lawsuit said. He is listed as a defendant in the suit.
When Benjamin Richmond was released from Frontier Behavioral Health, the center didn’t monitor him or give him supportive care — even though he had made threatening statements about hurting his mother , the lawsuit alleges.
It also claims the center didn’t take the steps to warn Kimberly Richmond about the dangers he posed to her. More than a month later, she was dead.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a Stevens County deputy was called to the Richmond home on Dec. 16, 2020, because a friend said Kimberly Richmond did not show for work that day at a local hardware store.
The deputy met with then-21-year-old Benjamin Richmond, who allowed him inside the house. He asked to go inside the bathroom, but Benjamin told him he had just gone to the bathroom in there and “it might be a little smelly.”
The deputy entered the bathroom and found Kimberly Richmond dead in her bathtub with blood coming from her neck, the affidavit said, and Benjamin Richmond told him, “I killed her.”
The lawsuit alleges because Benjamin Richmond stopped taking his medications and Frontier Behavioral Health never followed up or intervened, it led to a mental crisis. Kimberly Richmond’s death was not intentional, but rather “a direct result of his untreated mental illness,” the lawsuit said.
Frontier Behavioral Health spokesperson Carla Savalli said the center is unable to comment on pending litigation.
Benjamin Richmond was charged with first-degree murder in his mother’s death, but the case was ultimately dismissed in June 2022 because he was deemed incompetent to assist in his own defense. He was transported to Eastern State Hospital.
Court documents say he underwent competency restoration, but he was unlikely to ever regain competency, because “he is a substantial danger to other persons” and “presents a substantial likelihood of committing criminal acts jeopardizing public safety.”
Attorneys for the family did not respond to a message seeking comment.
