Nobody disputes that Joseph Miranda died when a construction vehicle ran him over.
But was it a murder? That?s a “strong possibility,” the state medical examiner?s office concluded.
Police and prosecutors, however, ruled the death an accident, and nobody has been charged.
Now the 19-year-old man?s mother, Adrienne Miranda, is suing, claiming a cover-up to protect Hampstead-based Outside Unlimited, a landscaping company her son was working for when he died on July 20, 2006.
“I?m not going to be plagued by this system,” Miranda said. “It is a broken, corrupt system, and I?m not going to fall through those cracks.”
Witnesses, according to state police who investigated, had said Joseph fell off a skid loader as it moved forward, and the vehicle crushed his skull.
But a state medical examiner?s report said that was impossible.
“There is a strong possibility of a homicide,” the report went on, “but until the inconsistencies are resolved and more investigation done, the manner of death will be classified as undetermined.”
Miranda, of Lutherville, said state police did not conduct a reconstruction to reveal what happened, so she hired forensic engineer Roger W. Link to do one.
Link?s report concluded Joseph did not fall off the skid loader, but had his back to the vehicle when it ran him over.
His mother asserted that authorities covered up a murder because Outside Unlimited has state contracts and is politically connected.
The company did not return a phone message or e-mails.
Criminal charges against state agencies were rejected by the Carroll County state?s attorney, which initially investigated the death because authorities believed the company was in Carroll.
But a surveyor later concluded Joseph?s death took place across the border in Baltimore County.
That county?s prosecutors declined to release documents because, they said, an investigation is pending.
Miranda is representing herself in a $6 million civil suit against some 30 state and local officials, including Attorney General Doug Gansler and former State Police Superintendent Thomas Hutchins.
Those officials declined comment on Miranda?s claim.
“All I can say is it is totally without merit,” said David Daggett, chief deputy state?s attorney in Carroll County.
Miranda said she will keep pressing for answers.
“I am a grieving mother,” she said. “I love my son, I miss my son. He is my heart, he is my life, and I will continue on this crusade to fight for justice for him.”
