PORTLAND – The mother of one of two girls allegedly murdered by Ward Weaver filed a $1.5 million lawsuit Friday against the Oregon Department of Human Services, claiming that mishandled abuse reports led to the killing.

Michelle Duffey said she decided to sue the state partly to prevent any such tragedies in the future.

“By going to court, I can help assure the state will be accountable for its actions,” Duffey said.

The body of her 13-year-old daughter, Michelle Gaddis, was found Aug. 24, 2002, in Weaver’s back yard at a rented house near the Oregon City apartment complex where Gaddis lived with her mother.

Gaddis had been missing for more than five months when her body was found near the body of her 12-year-old friend, Ashley Pond.

Weaver is charged with aggravated murder in both deaths.

Reports of suspected abuse of Pond were made to child welfare caseworkers but police were not notified and the Department of Human Services failed to take any action, according to the lawsuit.

Based on the reports, the agency should have recognized that Weaver was a potential threat “not only to Ashley Pond, but to other minor females who were Ashley Pond’s friends … including Miranda Diane Gaddis,” said the complaint, which was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Jean Thorne, who took over as director of the Department of Human Services following the deaths, said she had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment pending a review by agency attorneys.

But Thorne said the deaths have prompted changes in policy to ensure that all abuse reports made to law enforcement agencies are followed up.

The agency also has trimmed some management jobs to increase the number of caseworkers, who handled more than 40,000 abuse complaints in 2002, Thorne said.

“Even though we’re undergoing budget cuts in the Legislature, we’re doing more to get help to caseworkers in the field,” Thorne said.

Lawmakers still had not settled on a budget for the 2003-05 biennium by Friday, but cuts were expected in many state agencies. Department of Human Services officials, however, were hoping to see some funding restored for various programs, including mental health and substance abuse treatment.

The agency fired a caseworker and his supervisor after determining that abuse reports involving Pond were mishandled. After a review by an administrative law judge, both were reinstated but they were demoted and no longer directly handle abuse cases.