Trista Reynolds is pressing forward with a civil lawsuit against the father of her child and two of his family members, claiming they should be held responsible for Ayla's death in 2011.
www.centralmaine.com
Wrongful death suit, police probe linger in disappearance of Ayla Reynolds 12 years later
For many years, Trista Reynolds couldn’t bear to imagine the details of what happened to her daughter and where her body was taken after she died.
But now — 12 years after
Ayla Bell Reynolds was reported missing from her father’s home on Violette Avenue in Waterville — Reynolds wants to know everything.
She wants to give her daughter a proper burial.
“I do want to know where her body is and for the longest time, I didn’t want to know,” Reynolds said in an interview. “I’m ready to know what happened that night. I’m ready to know where her body is. I want to start enjoying my holidays with my kids. I’m ready to move on in life, to just take that next step, see what the future holds for me because right now, I don’t feel it holds anything because my life is on hold.”
The three defendants face civil counts of wrongful death, conscious pain and suffering, and wrongful interference with the body of a deceased person. Additionally, Justin DiPietro faces a count of breach of parents’ duty of care to a minor child.
The suit says there is sufficient evidence to allege that his mother and sister, individually or together with him, had the opportunity and means to participate in causing severe injury to Ayla that led to her death and that all three participated in an unsuccessful attempt to clean up and conceal blood stains found in multiple locations before authorities arrived at the house.
Trista Reynolds’ attorney, William H. Childs of Portland, continues working the case, which has faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.
“As more information and analysis has been provided to us,” Childs said in an interview, “we have become more certain that Justin, Elisha and Phoebe know what happened to Ayla, know who cleaned up the evidence and know who removed Ayla’s body from Violette Avenue in Waterville, Maine.”
Childs received documents in 2021 that
he was seeking from the state Attorney General’s Office, including evidence and documents from the Maine State Police investigation. He hired a forensic expert to review those materials.
Last year Childs said
confidentiality agreements needed to be executed before he was able to turn over the forensic evidence seized by Maine State Police to the defendants, Elisha and Phoebe DiPietro, who are being represented by Laura A. Maher of Monaghan Leahy LLP of Portland, a law firm retained by Phoebe DiPietro’s homeowners insurance carrier. Allison A. Economy, of Rudman Winchell of Bangor, represents the umbrella policy for that insurance carrier.
“That has now been completed,” Childs said of the confidentiality agreements having been executed. “The confidentiality information that we received from the state of Maine regarding forensic evidence has been turned over to Allison Economy, and discovery will continue for her to review and depose and conduct discovery. The new deadline to conduct discovery is April 12, 2024.”
Economy responded to a request for comment, saying in an email that she is just involved from an insurance coverage standpoint and can not comment on the case or her involvement.
All together, four lawyers are involved in the case, including Michael J. Waxman of Portland, who represents Justin DiPietro. Waxman did not return a phone message this week seeking comment but Maher, who represents Phoebe and Elisha DiPietro for Phoebe’s homeowners insurance carrier, responded via email, saying that she could not say much about the case because it’s part of ongoing litigation.
“However, I will say that my clients, Elisha and Phoebe, continue to vehemently deny the allegations, have very strong legal defenses to the claims, and expect to be vindicated at trial, if not sooner by motion,” Maher said.
As the 12-year mark arrives, that has changed, according to Trista Reynolds.
“I’m going to be really honest — I’ve become numb to her anniversaries,” she said. “I don’t do the ‘what ifs’ anymore. I don’t sit there and think about what if she was here. I don’t put myself through that any more. I’ve come to realize she will never celebrate the holidays with me or with the boys. I’m never going to know what she would look like or be like. Ayla is no longer here with me. That was all taken from me, all of it, and I’m never going to get it back.”
Maine State Police say they continue working the case a dozen years later.
Every night of the year, Reynolds and her family shines a pink light on their porch in honor of Ayla, who loved the color pink. During the month of December, they keep the light on 24 hours a day.
They hang Ayla’s first Christmas ornaments on their tree every year. One is a pink bear with three hearts hanging on it, and the other was a baby on a bell that said “Baby’s First Christmas,” but that latter ornament broke last year, according to Reynolds.
“I did buy her a new ornament this year,” she said. “I was just out shopping and looking around and found it. It is a sparkly unicorn, pink and blue, and I just thought of her and bought it. For the first time in 13 years I bought a new ornament. It will go up on the tree.”
