Missing girl focus of legal battles

No one who's talking knows if Everlyse Cabrera is still among the living.

But the tiny girl with a cap of dark hair who disappeared from her foster home in 2006 is a growing presence in federal court, where her name is now at the center of a brewing legal battle that has a small fortune at stake.

On one side, Ernesto Cabrera and Malena Olivas are seeking accountability and compensation from Clark County and the individuals they say failed to protect their 2 1/2-year-old daughter while she was in foster care.

Attorney Gregory Mills, who represents Cabrera and Olivas, has already reached a tentative settlement worth $300,000 with one of the defendant parties, foster parents Manuel and Vilma Carrascal. They were responsible for Everlyse at the time she went missing.

But the division of that settlement -- payable by a private company that insures Clark County foster families -- and any other that may result from the lawsuit has been thrown into question. In June, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Leavitt appointed attorney Dara Goldsmith to act as a guardian for Everlyse. One of her first court filings on behalf of Everlyse challenges Mills' proposal to divide the money equally between the child and her parents.

"Everlyse is the one who was neglected by Plaintiffs, subsequently placed in foster care, allegedly neglected there, and the one who has been likely abducted, kidnapped or murdered," Goldsmith wrote in a court document filed on July 17.

"Therefore, there is a strong likelihood that Everlyse is entitled to a larger settlement or judgment from Defendants than the Plaintiffs."

Goldsmith could not be reached for comment. In her brief, Goldsmith questioned the fitness of the parents to oversee the estate of their daughter because of their inability to care for her in the first place.

Their illegal drug use contributed to the removal of Everlyse and two other children from their custody. The two other children remain in foster care.

"In fact, there is an action for the termination of Plaintiff parental rights with regard to all three children pending in State Court," Goldsmith said in court documents.

That further complicates future settlement outcomes. Goldsmith said in her brief that if Everlyse is declared legally dead after three years, her estate goes into probate and would generally be split between the mother and father. However, if the parental rights of Ernesto Cabrera and Marlena Olivas have been terminated, then the estate would pass to the siblings.

Mills is now challenging Goldsmith's appointment as guardian, which he said has the appearance of being an advantage to the Clark County defendants. Leavitt chose Goldsmith from a list of proposed guardians submitted by the defendants, Mills said. None of the five candidates he recommended were selected. Mills has requested a review of Leavitt's decision.

"I can't even fathom why one of our suggestions wouldn't be appointed," said Mills, whose list included former judges and attorneys experienced in family law. "No reason was given."

According to court records, one of Mills' recommendations was attorney Christopher Tilman. Tilman was rejected by Leavitt primarily because the Review-Journal had named Tilman in a story that called into question the billing practices of court-appointed attorneys, Mills said in a court filing.

Other potential guardians suggested by Mills included former U.S. Attorney Robert Dickerson and retired Family Court Judge Robert Gaston.

Mills said he supports the decision to appoint a guardian for Everlyse. But that person should not be an attorney handpicked by the parties who removed the child from her home, placed her in a failing child welfare system and then lost her.

When asked for an example of why he thinks Goldsmith's appointments gives the Clark County defendants an advantage, Mills seized on her most recent court filing and its characterization of Ernesto Cabrera and Olivas.

"It hurts the case when the guardian ad litum wants to attack a plaintiff," Mills said last week. "It takes the heat off the responsible party -- the county."

Goldsmith responded to Mills' challenge of her appointment in her July 17 court filing. Throughout her career as an attorney, Goldsmith has handled more than 300 guardianship cases. She also co-authored the 2003 revision of Nevada guardianship law, the most comprehensive modification of the law since 1969. In addition, Goldsmith said she has no bias toward the parents or the defendants.

"Dara J. Goldsmith, Esq., is not employed by any of the Defendants in the instant case, nor are there any conflicts of interest that should disqualify her," her filing said.

Goldsmith also raised the issue of paternity. Ernesto Cabrera is not listed as the father on Everlyse's birth certificate, she said, which calls his standing into question.

Mills said there's no question that Cabrera is the father of Everlyse. He's been recognized as such by the legal system, Mills said, which has named him the father in Family Court proceedings revolving around the abuse and neglect issues.

As the case involving Everlyse heats up in federal court, North Las Vegas police remain stymied by a trail that's gone beyond cold. Since the Carrascals reported Everlyse missing more than a year ago, investigators have been frustrated by the lack of any credible leads in the case, said police spokesman Tim Bedwell.

The Carrascals have refused to speak to police since they were first interviewed. During depositions for the civil lawsuit, they invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

Bedwell said the missing person's case remains active. Police are holding out for a witness who may have had contact with the child, whom the Carrascals said awoke in the middle of the night, opened the door and wandered away.

"Most police agencies have one or two cases they just can't put away, for whatever reason," Bedwell said. "This is a case like that."