CASA New Hampshire has reached a settlement with the father of a Nashua toddler murdered by her mother, despite numerous investigations by New Hampshire’s Division of Children, Youth and Families.

William Boucher Jr., the father of Brielle Gage, filed a lawsuit against DCYF and CASA in late November, though the case is sealed from public view. Carolyn Cote, a CASA New Hampshire representative, said Thursday that the matter between CASA and Boucher has been resolved.

Rus Rilee, Boucher’s attorney, said that it is a confidential settlement, and he is unable to disclose any details. Boucher’s case against DCYF, however, is going forward, Rilee said.

Brielle Gage was 3 when her mother, Katlyn Marin, brutally beat her to death in November 2014 in her Nashua apartment. Marin is serving a 45-year-to-life sentence as she appeals her second degree murder conviction.

Boucher is suing as an individual, and on behalf of his daughter’s estate.

Marin was investigated 10 times by DCYF in the years before the murder, and Brielle and her four brothers were removed from the home a few months before the murder when Brielle’s leg was broken, Assistant District Attorney Jeffery Strelzin said during Marin’s trial. Marin gave police conflicting accounts of that break, including that she slipped coming out of the tub and that she broke it roughhousing with her brothers.

CASA of New Hampshire provides volunteer advocates, appointed by the courts, to help children involved in abuse and neglect cases. These advocates are supposed to represent the child in court, and work to see the child’s needs are met and the child is kept safe.

Brielle suffered more than 150 injuries in the attack that left her dead, with Marin’s then-boyfriend Michael Rivera and one of her children telling police they saw Marin slam the little girl’s head against the floor.

Before she was arrested, Marin tried to have Rivera killed when it became clear he was cooperating with police and would testify against her, Strelzin said.

Brielle’s murder, and the 2015 murder of Sadie Willot, a Manchester toddler killed by her mother, Katlin Paquette, also the subject of DCYF interventions, forced New Hampshire to bring in an independent organization to review DCYF. Paquette pleaded guilty to second degree murder and is serving a 21-to-42-year prison term.

The independent review found that DCYF regularly failed to help children at risk of harm, and that it regularly closed cases as “unfounded” even though there was evidence of abuse and or neglect.

Last year, DCYF hired another 20 child protection specialists, and Gov. Chris Sununu is backing a plan to hire 16 more. The state also has created an Office of Child Advocate to serve in an oversight role of state services that are supposed to protect

children.

Damien Fisher can be reached at 594-1245 or dfisher@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_DF.