The Battle for the Files
* apartment in April 2021. The motion, filed Friday, June 12, sets the stage for a July 10 hearing in Pasadena Superior Court.
Erick Denton is asking a Pasadena judge to force a psychologist to release evaluation records of Liliana Carrillo, who drowned their three children in Reseda in 2021. The July 10 hearing could determine what evidence Denton can use in his civil lawsuit against the city and county.
* apartment in April 2021. The motion, filed Friday, June 12, sets the stage for a July 10 hearing in Pasadena Superior Court.
Denton’s attorneys say the files from psychologist Nichole M. Vienna are essential to his civil lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. The suit alleges that Los Angeles Police Department officers ignored warning signs of Carrillo’s deteriorating mental health and failed to share critical information with county social workers.
"This information is relevant to plaintiff’s claims against the city and county of Los Angeles in this case, which center upon Carrillo’s dangerous mental state and the city and county’s actions in response to reports they received regarding Carrillo’s mental state posing a danger to her children before their deaths," Denton’s attorneys wrote in court filings.
Vienna has refused to turn over the records, citing sensitive information, according to Denton’s legal team. However, another examiner, psychiatrist David S. Rad, already summarized Vienna’s findings in his own report.
Rad wrote that Vienna concluded Carrillo suffered from a mental disease "within the mood disorder spectrum complicated by symptoms of expansive moods ... agitation, racing thoughts, delusions and disordered thinking and behavior that impairs her daily functioning."
Rad also noted that Vienna believed Carrillo was incapable of understanding that her actions were wrong, according to the court papers.
Denton’s lawyers argue that Vienna’s conclusions were already disclosed during the criminal prosecution. They contend the records no longer hold confidential privilege.
The upcoming hearing before Judge Jared D. Moses could determine how much evidence Denton’s team can access. Under California law, psychotherapist-patient communications are generally privileged. Judges can conduct private inspections of records to decide what portions are relevant and discoverable.
If the judge orders limited disclosure, Denton’s attorneys say it could strengthen allegations that police and social workers missed actionable warning signs. If the court confines access to a private review, the public may never see what the files contain.
A judge found Liliana Carrillo legally insane in October 2024 for the deaths of her three children: Sierra, 6 months old, Joanna, 3 years old, and Terry, 2 years old. In January 2025, she was ordered to serve 75 years to life in a state hospital.
Carrillo admitted to the killings in a jailhouse interview with KGET-TV.
"I drowned them," she said. "I wasn’t about to hand my children off to be further abused."
When asked if she regretted her actions, Carrillo replied:
"I wish my kids were alive, yes. Do I wish that I didn’t have to do that? Yes. But I prefer them not being tortured and abused on a regular basis for the rest of their life."
Denton filed his civil complaint in April 2022. The case remains in discovery, with a trial date set later this year.
This article was generated with AI assistance.