An attorney says the mother of a Maine toddler who disappeared and was declared legally dead plans to file a civil suit claiming the father caused the child's death.
Attorney William Childs tells the Morning Sentinel Trista Reynolds plans to file the wrongful death suit Monday in Cumberland County Superior Court.
Ayla, who was 20 months old, was staying with her father, Justin DiPietro, in Waterville when she disappeared in December 2011, triggering a massive search.
A September 2017 court order declared Ayla Reynolds died on or around Dec. 17, 2011.
The father has told police he believes Ayla was abducted. Investigators who found blood in the father's basement bedroom say they believe Ayla was killed.
No one has been charged with a crime. Efforts to reach DiPietro were unsuccessful.
