The Last Dance

Haynes claims he didn't know Nicholson planned to charge admission and advertise the event on flyers that were passed around among hundreds of teens. The rental contract didn't prohibit such promotion, though. Haynes didn't even draw up a new lease. He used the same form Nicholson had signed that spring.

The document required no security. It specified only that the renter provide "a designated person to be supervisor in charge of the rental area." Instead, Haynes testified, Haynes and Nicholson made a verbal agreement that Nicholson would provide security for outside the building.

In spite of his promise to help with the funeral, the Carrolls never saw Nicholson after his condolence visit.

Several family friends told the Carrolls they should hire a lawyer. At first, the idea seemed alien to them.

"I was not thinking of suing anyone," Cynthia Carroll says. "I just wanted answers. How did it happen? Who did it? How did the guy get into the dance hall if you had security?"

She was more concerned about the criminal investigation. Through media reports, she pleaded for witnesses to come forward with information. Eventually, Yntell Duley emerged as the top suspect. Nearly a month later, Duley was arrested and charged with eight criminal counts, including second-degree murder. His trial began March 29 in Jackson County Court.

But the Carrolls still wanted more answers. Their friends suggested that the legal system might help them find answers. One recommended they call Michael Fletcher, who, in his short career, has gained considerable media attention for high-profile cases.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Fletcher worked on both of Emanuel Cleaver's mayoral campaigns. After law school, he represented a number of African-American churches. In 1998, he represented the plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against Rent-A-Center, which ended with an $8 million judgment against the company. In 2001, he successfully sued the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department after a police shooting. He also won a multimillion-dollar judgment for City Councilwoman Saundra McFadden-Weaver against the African Methodist Episcopal Church (Allie Johnson's "Divine Debauchery," June 7, 2001).

The Carrolls called Fletcher. He'd heard about the murder on TV, but he wasn't sure he could do anything. After talking with them, he decided to help them build a case.

"I didn't think we'd get any money," he tells the Pitch. "I just figured we could do this at least to give them [the Carrolls] some peace."

"It's not a money issue," Cynthia Carroll says. "I'm looking at it as a mother who is trying to bring justice for my daughter."

Fletcher knew he had a case after he talked with people from the 49/63 neighborhood. When he shared with the Carrolls the information he'd gleaned -- the warnings for increased security at teen parties -- they were incensed.

"If I have a bunch of kids here at my home, they're my responsibility once they come up those steps out there," Ronnie Carroll says. "And that should be anywhere a kid goes. It just makes me so mad when I think about it."

After doing some research, there appeared to be plenty of blame to spread around. Fletcher initially drew up a case against Nicholson, the security firm Nicholson hired for the party and Haynes.

In a sworn affidavit, Nicholson testified that he'd hired American Protection Industry to supply three security guards at a rate of $23 an hour. According to Nicholson, his agreement with API stipulated that the guards would ensure "that weapons were not brought into the Troostwood facility [and] that crowd control was carried out in a safe and prudent manner."

But just two API guards showed up to work at the party. After being assured that two guards would be adequate, Nicholson testified, he decided to proceed with the event.

Meanwhile, API owner Andrew Harvey swore in a deposition that Nicholson had merely requested security for outside the facility. He said that no contract had been signed. "It was only a phone conversation, five or six minutes at the longest in length," Harvey said. "Phone rang. I answered. 'Can you provide two security guards to do the parking lot?' 'Yes.' That was it."

Harvey admitted that he didn't research the facility to determine its level of risk -- he didn't inspect the grounds, for instance, or check police logs of the area. And he testified that Nicholson had never informed him what kind of event he would be staffing.

"Had I known this party was for teenagers and there was going to be drinking, alcohol and drugs and all that type of stuff going on, I never would have taken the job," Harvey said.

"Why not?" Fletcher asked.

"Because it's too high-risk," he replied. "I just wouldn't want to put my people in harm's way like that, where they would have to pull a weapon or use those sprays or whatever to break up fights or protect themselves or whatever."

Shortly after the suit was filed, Harvey dissolved his company. In the process, he destroyed all of the company's financial documents.