ATLANTA, Ga. (InvestigateTV) — A 27-year-old man who was diagnosed with severe autism spent 19 days in a Clayton County jail after escaping from his state-contracted group home — an outcome disability advocates say should never have happened.
Casey Christopher is a ward of the Georgia Department of Human Services. For nearly a decade, he has lived in a state-contracted group home operated by Bright Star Homes & Services, a provider contracted by the state to care for people with developmental disabilities.
A pattern of escapes
Christopher ran away from the group home dozens of times over the years. In each prior instance, police returned him to his caregivers.
In May 2025, an earlier investigation uncovered that Christopher had wandered away multiple times. Less than a month after that story aired, he escaped again.
Body camera footage from June 5, 2025, shows a Clayton County officer responding to yet another incident.
“We just trying to figure out how this continues to happen because this is the third time that I know of and I know it’s been several times before,” the officer said.
Arrest and jailing
Six days later, on June 11, 2025, police found Christopher missing again. This time, instead of returning him to his group home, officers took him to the Clayton County Jail.
Body camera footage captured an officer telling Christopher, “You’ll probably be out later on afternoon, back in time to watch TV with everybody else.”
He was not released that afternoon. Court records show Christopher was held on a failure to appear charge related to a misdemeanor assault allegation against a Bright Star employee.
He remained in jail for 19 days.
While behind bars, a judge dismissed the case, ruling Christopher incompetent to stand trial.
‘The provider would be responsible’
Rena Harris of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities said the responsibility for ensuring Christopher made his court date fell to his provider, not to him
“The provider is responsible for making sure he gets to his appointments, so the provider would be responsible,” Harris said.
Harris said Christopher should not have been held accountable for missing the hearing.
“Casey should not have been held responsible for missing the court date because he couldn’t have gotten himself there in the first place,” she said.
Release and family reunion
When Christopher was released from jail, a DHS representative did not pick him up; his family did.
His mother, Shirley Christopher, said the reunion was emotional.
“It was beautiful,” she said. “Because I was so worried about him. All I could do was hold him.”
Casey Christopher described his time behind bars simply: “It was no fun at all.”
Shirley Christopher said she has been trying to regain custody of her son for years. She said a judge placed him in the state’s care roughly a decade ago after he repeatedly ran away from her home. Since returning to her, she said he has not left her side.
“They have failed my son. He wasn’t safe,” she said. “I have no doubt that my son needs to be with his family. That’s what he wants.”
State response
Bright Star Homes & Services and the Georgia Department of Human Services both declined to answer questions about Christopher’s case. DHS said in an emailed statement: “(It) is bound by law to act to protect the privacy of the people we serve. As such, we are unable to comment.”
According to emails InvestigateTV obtained, the state of Georgia has no plans to return Christopher to Bright Star.
The judge who previously presided over Christopher’s guardianship case also declined to comment.
Shirley Christopher said she has no plans to return her son to the state’s custody.