No charges filed against 'troubled teen' boarding school in the death of Taylor Goodridge

No charges against boarding school where WA teen died

Taylor Goodridge died of peritonitis, an infection of abdomen tissue, followed by sepsis, which caused her organs to fail. No charges have been brought against the academy she attended when this happened.

A setback for a Snohomish County family fighting for justice following the untimely death of their daughter at a ‘troubled teen’ boarding school in Utah.

Autopsy results showed Taylor Goodridge died in agony, as staff at the Diamond Ranch Academy allegedly told her to 'suck it up' as her symptoms became worse.

17-year-old Taylor Goodridge.

FOX 13 has learned there will be no criminal charges in the case, at least for now.

Her autopsy confirmed the 17-year-old died of a severe internal infection, which is usually treatable. However, a Utah state investigation found her plight was downplayed or ignored right up to her final hours, making the Washington County District Attorney's decision all the more frustrating for Taylor's family.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 'They sent her home in a box:' WA family suing 'troubled teen' treatment facility after daughter's death

For Dean Goodridge, the pain and heartache of losing his 17-year-old daughter only gets worse with time.

"I still think my daughter is going to come home someday, that's not happening," Goodridge said. "They took something from me that I'll never get back."

Trouble for Taylor began when the teen fell ill in December 2022. In their lawsuit, her family maintains that the therapeutic boarding school known as Diamond Ranch Academy did very little to help her, despite her documented pleas for help.

According to an investigation done by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Taylor was sick for at least two weeks and the school did not take her to a physician or to the emergency room for further assessment.

"They destroyed every organ she had," Goodridge said.

Strong allegations from her father as the internal infection is treatable. Usually it requires rapid treatment with antibiotics.

"My daughter died from the inside," Goodridge said.

For the last six months, Hurricane Police have been investigating the academy. Their investigation into the teen's death was completed and later turned over to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office – who declined to file any criminal charges against the school on Friday, saying there was not enough evidence to do so.

"How do they not have enough evidence, all these employees came forward, all these students came forward," Goodridge said.

FOX 13 reached out to the DA's Office who said the case is closed, but would look into other possible evidence and reopen if necessary.

"That just sounds like politics to me," Goodridge said. "It's their way of saying nicely, we're not doing anything."

We sat with the mourning father, who pledged not to give up on his efforts to see Diamond Ranch Academy shut down.

"Now it just makes me – it's going to make me fight harder and stronger," Goodridge said.

School officials have previously refused to comment on Taylor's case, citing medical privacy concerns. However, Diamond Ranch Academy did tell us there are several allegations in the family's neglect lawsuit that are not true.

A court hearing date for the lawsuit has yet to be set.