Mental health agency declined to respond to calls before double homicide, lawsuit says

Two days before she was killed in November, allegedly at the hands of her son, Montpelier resident Mary Gomes made multiple calls to a local mental health agency about him — but an employee declined to visit her home, a new lawsuit alleges. 

The allegation was raised in a wrongful termination suit filed last week in Washington County Superior Court by Jordan Houston, a former employee of Washington County Mental Health Services.

According to Houston’s lawsuit, she was fired from her role as a crisis clinician/emergency screener in January after raising concerns about another employee of the agency. The complaint accuses that employee of “abusive and harassing behavior” and “lapses of judgement, errors and other work-related problems.”

The lawsuit stems from alleged incidents in the days before a double homicide shocked Montpelier late last year. On Nov. 15, Matthew Gomes allegedly murdered his parents, Jerry Gomes, 77, and Mary Gomes, 60 during an apparent mental health crisis. He has pleaded not guilty.

According to Houston’s lawsuit, which was first reported by freelance journalist Mike Donoghue, Mary Gomes had called Washington County Mental Health Services multiple times on Nov. 13 — two days before her death — and requested a visit from mental health professionals. 

But the employee who had taken those calls had declined to visit the Gomeses’ home, saying that when mental health workers had assessed Matthew Gomes in the past, it had upset him, according to the complaint.

“I didn’t want to make it worse,” the employee later told Houston, the lawsuit alleges. 

In an interview, Houston said the mental health agency had a history of working with the Gomes family, and that Mary and Jerry Gomes knew when it was necessary to call for mental health assistance — like they allegedly did before they were killed. 

“I do think it could have been prevented,” Houston said. “And that’s kind of why I had to fall on the sword here. I couldn’t have lived with myself if I didn’t.” 

Beth Sightler, the CEO of Washington County Mental Health Services, expressed concern about unspecified “misinformation and mischaracterizations” in an emailed statement.

“We thank our current staff for their appropriate and professional response during the week of November 15, 2024, and we are confident in the chronology of events, procedures, and responsive actions during that time,” Sightler said. “We support and defend our staff, we are proud of the difficult work we have done and continue to do, even in the face of inaccurate and harmful claims.”

According to the lawsuit, Houston brought concerns about the other employee to supervisors the week after the killing, texting a supervisor that she had previously raised concerns about her coworker and that those concerns “hadn’t changed.”

When a supervisor contacted her to set up a meeting, Houston said she asked to have another staffer — “someone on my side” — be present.

“Ok I will consult with folks about next steps here Jordan as I am at a loss as to what to do in our relationship moving forward,” the supervisor texted in a reply, according to the suit.

Houston was then placed on administrative leave for “unspecified misconduct,” and was ultimately fired in January, the court filing said. 

The lawsuit, which names Washington County Mental Health Services as a defendant, seeks compensatory and punitive damages and for Houston to be reinstated. Washington County Mental Health Services has not yet formally responded to the suit.