‘They Failed Jace’: Dad of Murdered 4-Year-Old Says NYC Shares Blame in Tragedy

A Brooklyn father is blaming a New York City agency in his son’s death, claiming in a lawsuit that they failed his son by ignoring clear warning signs before the 4-year-old was killed.

The family of young Jace Eubanks has been mourning his loss for more than a year, and now his father wants answers. Jamal Eubanks said in a lawsuit that the Administration for Children’s Services ignored obvious signs of child abuse.

“I don’t understand how something like this could go on, especially with all the other cases that they brought to my attention,” Eubanks said Tuesday.

Police said Jace died at the hands of his mom’s boyfriend, Jerimiah Johnson. Jace’s mother waved down police outside of their home on Baltic Street in Gowanus in Sept. 2021, saying her child wasn’t breathing.

He was rushed to the hospital where he died. The official cause of death was battered child syndrome, with the medical examiner noting that Jace had multiple injuries in various stages of healing.

“ACS failed Jamal. They failed Jace. And they failed this city,” said Derek Sells, the family’s attorney.

In the lawsuit, Eubanks and his attorneys said that ACS should have done more to help the child. Jace’s daycare called ACS a month before his death to report suspicious injuries.

“If ACS had simply taken him to a doctor to be X-rayed, they would have known that he had skull fractures, rib fractures and other injuries,” said Sells.

Johnson had 12 prior arrests, all domestic in nature, NBC New York has learned. And according to the court filing against ACS, Johnson had a history of child abuse. In fact, at the time of the report relating to the children in this case, Johnson had multiple complaints of child abuse and domestic violence still open.

“For this child to have been left in the care and custody of Jerimiah Johnson by ACS, the administration of children services, is absolutely appalling,” said Mina Malik, an attorney representing the family.

The city’s law department said in a statement, “What a tragic and senseless loss. We’ll review the case and respond in the litigation.”

Eubanks said he wants accountability — not only for the memory of his son Jace, but also for the boy’s older brother, who’s now in foster care.

“I just want some justice for my son to be made so things like this doesn’t happen again to me to other families,” Eubanks said.

Johnson is currently behind bars, facing murder charges. Jace’s mother was never charged with a crime in the child’s death.