D.A. Will Not File Criminal Charges Against Wilderness Camp Where 12-Year-Old Died of Suffocation
Clark Joseph Harman, of New York, was found unresponsive by counselors at the adolescent behavioral therapy camp in February
Authorities in North Carolina will not file criminal charges against a camp where a 12-year-old boy died of suffocation in February.
District Attorney Andrew Murray said in a statement obtained by NBC affiliate WCNC-TV and the Charlotte Observer that his office will not pursue involuntary manslaughter charges against Trails Carolina following the death of Clark Joseph Harman.
“The investigation revealed that Clark Harman’s death was the result of suffocation, which, while tragic, did not involve criminal intent or recklessness sufficient to warrant criminal charges for involuntary manslaughter under the law,” Murray said on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Related: What Caused the Death of a Boy, 12, Who Arrived at 'Troubled Teen’ Wilderness Camp Hours Earlier?
Harman, of New York, was found unresponsive at the western North Carolina wilderness therapy camp for troubled adolescents on Feb. 3.
According to a report previously obtained by PEOPLE, the medical examiner believes that Harman’s cause of death was "asphyxia due to smothering," and his death had previously been ruled a homicide.
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A representative with the district attorney’s office did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment. PEOPLE also attempted to make contact with Trails Carolina, which is now closed, for a comment on the decision.
In the early morning hours of Feb. 3, Trails Carolina staff called 911 when they could not wake the child up, the camp said at the time, as previously reported by PEOPLE.
Harman was sleeping in a one-person nylon tent called a bivy.
Related: Cause of Death Revealed for Boy, 12, Found Dead at N.C. 'Troubled Teen' Wilderness Camp
Camp protocol required each bivy to have an opening that holds an "alarm" to notify cabin counselors if the occupant tries to exit, according to the report.
Because the internal mesh on the boy's bivy was torn, the camp used the “weather-resistant door” on the outer layer of the bivy to secure the boy inside of it, the report stated. The outer layer of the bivy was opaque, meaning counselors who checked on him throughout the night couldn't actually see him, the report stated.
He "stopped moving" inside the bivy around 1 a.m., according to the report. When emergency personnel arrived after being called around 8 a.m., they determined he had likely been dead for a few hours, the report stated.
The camp has said it had conducted an internal investigation of the incident, which “concluded that there is no evidence that Trails failed to properly supervise, no evidence that Trails caused harm and no evidence that conditions at Trails were unsafe or unhealthy,” per Fox Carolina.
The state’s Department of Health and Human Services later removed all children from the camp and its license was revoked, the Observer and CNN reported.