Inset: Kathleen Galloway-Menke (KCRG). Background: Jovahn Mathis in court for shoving and killing youth group home worker Kathleen Galloway-Menke (KCCI/YouTube).
An Iowa teen "violently shoved" a youth group home worker who was trying to stop him from running into a busy street — causing her to fall and slam her head on the ground, killing the 50-year-old. The victim's family is suing the youth home, saying it ignored warnings about the teen's aggressive behavior.
"Everyone in my building and my cottage knew," Chloe Williamson, daughter of victim Kathleen Galloway-Menke, told The Des Moines Register a month after her death in May 2024. "We tried telling Ellipsis this was a problem and (the child's placement) wasn't the right fit, but we didn't have the support."
Court records viewed by Law&Crime show that Williamson and her sister, Camille Menke, have filed a lawsuit against the youth group home where Galloway-Menke worked, Ellipsis, in Johnston. The sisters allege that Ellipsis knew 15-year-old Jovahn Mathis was dangerous and displayed "extremely violent" behavior toward Galloway-Menke and other female employees but failed to do anything about it, the Register reports.
Ellipsis staff "failed to remove Mathis and other dangerous residents from the Ellipsis campus, failed to place them in a more secure or appropriate facility, failed to secure them, failed to protect the staff, including Kathleen, and failed to implement and ensure proper safeguards, procedures, and protocols to protect staff," the legal petition charges.
"Inadequate security, chronic understaffing, malfunctioning or unavailable communication devices" and other problems ultimately led to Mathis being able to exit the youth facility, the lawsuit says.
Mathis, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in May 2025, had walked away from the home and attempted to run into traffic, but Galloway-Menke was able to stop him. Mathis attacked Galloway-Menke soon after.
"The employee was violently shoved, causing them to fall and strike their head on the ground," a fatality report filed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration states. "The impact resulted in a fatal blunt head injury."
The OSHA report says Galloway-Menke was following Mathis after he "eloped from the facility campus into a nearby residential area." Galloway-Menke died after suffering "an acute subdural hematoma and subarachnoid hemorrhage," the report says.
Mathis, now 17, was sent to adult court as a youthful offender. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31. The teen is currently locked up at the Iowa Boys State Training School in Eldora.
"Our hearts remain with Kathleen's family and all those affected by this loss," Ellipsis CEO Kelly Hannan told the Register in a statement, when reached for comment about the pending lawsuit. "While we cannot comment on the pending litigation, we can state that we are committed to seeking a fair and just outcome in this matter while keeping our focus on the vulnerable youth and families we serve."
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