A father's quest

16 deaths, no one criminally accountable
Less than six months had passed since he buried his only son, Charles Moody was fluctuating between being depressed and being on the warpath against his former client.

Nothing had happened to the Brown Schools in the wake of the state’s damning investigation into his son’s death — no criminal charges, no fines. So, Charles Moody, along with family and friends, marched to the Capitol of Texas to go public with his outrage.

He was invited to testify in favor of a bill imposing criminal penalties in restraint deaths. "I think my son’s death, like many of these kids' deaths, are entirely preventable," Moody said in his testimony.

Once there, he met families of other victims, parents just like himself who’d lost their kids after being physically restrained.

Like Holly Steele’s 9-year-old son, Randy, who died in a Brown Schools hospital in San Antonio when he was held face down for throwing a tantrum and refusing to take a bath. Her son’s death helped change Texas laws to prohibit face-down holds. 

It turns out that Chase was the 16th child to die in a restraint like that in Texas since 1988 — the fifth at a Brown Schools facility. Within weeks of Chase’s death, the state cancelled its lease with On Track, so the Brown Schools closed the program and its campsite. 

With On Track out of business, the state took no action against the Brown Schools beyond its damning report. The Brown Schools appealed, but officials say 26 of the 28 critical findings against it were upheld. The state also upheld the findings against the counselors, who had denied wrongdoing.

The local district attorney presented information to a grand jury, but never called the three counselors to testify and the grand jury decided there wasn’t enough evidence to file charges.

Moody says there’s something wrong with the system when 16 children die in psychiatric and behavioral facilities and no one is held criminally accountable. He says he had to fight for some kind of accountability. So he did what lawyers do — he sued everyone involved in his son's death, including his former client, the Brown Schools.

"I’ll never win," he says of his lawsuit. "The only way I could win is if my son came home. There is no victory in this."

Chandler and Moody meet again, under different circumstances
Since Chase’s death, Charles says he’s often thought of Judy Chandler and her son’s death. He hadn’t spoken to her since he got her kind note after Chase died. But through "Dateline," the two former enemies in court came together again... this time as parents offering comfort to one another.  

Judy Chandler: Hello..

Charles Moody: Hi. Judy? Charles Moody... sorry we had to meet like this again.

Chandler: I wish there was something I could do for either one of you.

Moody: Just you thinking of us made us feel really much better.

Charles and his wife, Tina, thanked Judy for the heartfelt letter she’d sent shortly after Chase died.

Judy, in turn, thanked him for the comforting words he’d spoken to her after her case was settled long ago.

Chandler: I just wanted you to know I knew how you felt. And you were kind to me that day. Just saying what little you said to me. And I didn’t want you to think that since you defended them, that I had any, any hard feelings.

Moody: Well, I appreciate it.

Chandler: You give them hell.

Moody: Believe me, I’m going to.

Chandler: Oh, I hope you do.

A time to heal
For more than a year, Moody fought hard against the Brown Schools. But like Judy Chandler, he concluded the emotional cost of a drawn-out legal battle was too high — so he, too, settled out of court with everyone involved.

Like a lot of civil cases, the exact terms of the settlement were private, but "Dateline" learned that Charles and his ex-wife got an undisclosed amount of money. There was no admission of wrongdoing by any of the defendants.

The Brown Schools declined comment on the legal action, but Charles said he believes there’s been a big change in the company’s attitude.

"It appears to me that there’s a different corporate mindset and it’s a caring corporate mindset," says Moody.

Moody and his family have moved from Dallas to a farm in Tennessee, where he’s re-thinking his career as a lawyer and spending more time with his family — and taking time to heal.

Just being around the horses and riding reminds Moody of the cherished time he spent with his son outdoors and riding carefree into the wind.

The Brown Schools filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

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