2 Fired in Girls’ Slaying Case

SALEM, Ore. —  Two child welfare agency workers were fired Thursday for how the agency handled reports that a girl was being sexually abused by a man who now is charged with killing her and a friend.

The two met with department officials Tuesday to present their side of the story and received notices of dismissal Thursday.

The agency received five calls in summer of 2001 to report that Ashley Pond, 12, had accused neighbor Ward Weaver of sexually abusing her. Police didn’t learn of her accusation until after she disappeared in January.

The girl’s body was found in August, buried beneath a concrete slab that Weaver had installed at his home. The body of her friend, 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis, was found in a shed on Weaver’s property.

Weaver has pleaded not guilty to killing the two girls, who lived in an apartment complex down the road. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The dismissed employees were identified as Darlene Walsh, a supervisor who has worked for the department since 1990, and Colin Fitzpatrick, a caseworker since 1998.