No involuntary manslaughter charges in boy’s death at nature therapy camp

LAKE TOXAWAY, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina prosecutor announced Wednesday that he will not pursue involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of a 12-year-old boy at a nature therapy camp.

The death of Clark Harman in February was tragic but didn’t involve sufficient criminal intent or recklessness to warrant involuntary manslaughter charges, District Attorney Andrew Murray said in a statement.

Counselors stationed in the cabin that night understood that Harman was agitated about being required to sleep in a small camping enclosure called a bivy, but didn’t think he was suffering any medical distress until they tried to wake him, Murray said. Neither the counselors, nor the other children in the cabin reported hearing Harman in distress, Murray said.

“The law requires us to meet a high threshold when considering charges of involuntary manslaughter,” Murray said. “While we are deeply saddened by this tragedy, we must follow the law and make decisions based on the evidence and our legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

An autopsy released in June found that the boy died from an inability to breathe in the mostly plastic tentlike structure he was sleeping in. The report from the North Carolina chief medical examiner’s office focused on the damaged bivy and determined the boy died of asphyxia.

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The boy had a history of anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and migraines, according to the autopsy report. He was brought from his home in New York to the Trails Carolina wilderness program at the request of his family. He died less than 24 hours after arriving.

A counselor told detectives from the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office that the boy refused to eat dinner and was “loud and irate,” but later calmed down and ate snacks, according to an affidavit filed with a search warrant that was released in February. The counselor said the boy had a panic attack around midnight and was checked on at 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., the affidavit stated. He was stiff and cold to the touch when he was found dead at 7:45 a.m.

When the boy was found dead, his body was turned away from the entrance and his feet were near the opening, which meant the camping enclosure’s waterproof material could fall onto his face, the autopsy report stated.

In a February news release, Trails Carolina said they grieved with the boy’s family and that “everything points to an accidental death.” Trails Carolina did not immediately comment when contacted about the prosecutor’s announcement on Wednesday.

Two weeks after the boy died, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said it was removing all children from the program’s care for two months “to ensure the health and safety of the children.” The department later revoked the program’s license, citing several deficiencies, and the owner of the property where Trails Carolina operated has listed it for sale, The Charlotte Observer reported.