A mother from Federal Way recently filed a lawsuit on Dec. 4 against the state of Washington, the Department of Corrections and a community corrections officer for failing to do their part in preventing the murder of her daughter Tricia Patricelli in 2012.

Scottye Miller murdered Cathy Harper’s daughter on Oct. 30, 2012 after a history of brutal domestic violence and death threats.

Two weeks after he was released from prison for those threats and assaults, he stabbed Patricelli, 33, in her bathroom at her Auburn apartment.

Miller had connected with Patricelli after he was released despite the no contact order in place. But when the mother of two daughters told him to move out because of his abusive pattern, he broke into her apartment and stabbed her repeatedly in the neck and torso.

Her roommate discovered her body “minutes later” and called her mother, Harper. Harper arrived before first responders and “discovered her daughter’s brutally murdered body in the condition in which Miller left her,” court documents state. “She was devastated and continues to suffer objective symptoms of emotional distress.”

Although Miller was sentenced in January 2014 to 50 years at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla, Walla for murdering Patricelli in the first-degree, Harper alleges Miller isn’t the only one responsible for her daughter’s death.

While Miller was serving time for punching her in the face, locking her out on her balcony and threatening to kill Patricelli on Dec. 30, 2011, Miller also sent letters to Patricelli that threatened her life, a violation of the no contact order.

“Although inmate mail is subject to inspection, [the Department of Corrections] failed to intercept these letters or respond to them in any way,” the lawsuit states.

Harper alleges the Department of Corrections also “made an error in calculating Miller’s early release date, failing to properly count his credit for days served in county jail,” which is in violation of Washington law, administrative code and Department of Corrections policy provision, the lawsuit states.

Because of his early release, Harper said he would have not been free on the date he murdered her daughter.

When he was released on Oc. 15, 2012, a community custody officer was was assigned to supervise the “high violent” offender.

“Despite Miller’s history, Miller’s community corrections officer ignored Miller’s violations of his conditions of release, made no effort to verify where he was staying and otherwise did little to nothing to supervise him,” the document states.

Miller could not contact or see Patricelli for at least five years, but he ended up living with her.

Miller was supposed to undergo court-ordered psychological treatment and live in a clean sober house but he did neither.

Harper alleges his community custody officer never once visited the place Miller told her he was staying, nor did he actually stay there.

The lawsuit states the officer never checked his cell phone or check beforehand that he attend a mandatory evaluation appointment — only after he had already murdered Patricelli did she check, the lawsuit continues.

Because of this, Harper is seeking damages from the Department of Corrections’ failure to comply with the state Offender Accountability Act and their own administrative rules.

The Department of Corrections could not be reached for comment.

Patricelli’s mother has also suffered emotional distress, or loss of consortium, after finding her daughter’s body in a “gruesome state.”

The amount of that damage will be determined at a trial. Harper is seeking damages for past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering — both mental and physical — past and future permanent and partial disability/disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, damages to property, past and future special and economic damages, loss of income and earning capacity, loss of consortium, and damage and/or destruction of the parent-child relationship, among others.