With his larger than life personality, Dallas Cowboys quarterback and television football host Don Meredith lived in the public spotlight.

Privately, he sought to ensure a lifetime of care for his youngest child, Heather, who was born with physical and intellectual disabilities.

As a result, Heather, now 49 and described as “pleasant and bubbly,” enjoyed a quiet, comfortable life in Kentucky at Stewart Home & School, a well-appointed, private residential center in Frankfort for many years.

But after he died in 2010, events took a different turn when control of Heather's affairs passed to the football star's widow, Susan Meredith, his third wife and Heather's stepmother.

Over the past year, alleged abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of Heather culminated in a court battle in Frankfort over control of Heather’s affairs, pitting Susan Meredith against Heather's mother, Cheryl King, who was Don Meredith's second wife.

The monthslong controversy over Heather’s well-being ended this year with a court settlement in which King replaced Heather's stepmother as guardian and Susan Meredith agreed to add more than $1 million to Heather's trust, which contained less than $300,000 at the time.

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The abuse allegations and dispute over Heather's care unfolded in a series of confidential court and social services proceedings.

But more than 1,000 pages of documents from a separate investigation by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, obtained by the Courier Journal through an open records request, detail the controversy triggered by a 2017 complaint of alleged abuse, neglect and exploitation of Heather from Franklin District Court, which oversees guardianship cases.

Among the allegations, Heather, under the guardianship of Susan Meredith:

Suffered from untreated broken and abscessed teeth;

Wore used, shabby clothing and shoes;

Lacked basic personal supplies;

Was restricted from school outings and activities her stepmother insisted she could not afford through the trust, saying she might be forced to remove her from the school.

Susan Meredith also failed to file required, annual financial reports with Franklin District Court, according to the allegations.

The allegations initially were substantiated by state social service officials but were later thrown out following an appeal by a lawyer for Susan Meredith who submitted a letter objecting to the findings and saying his client "properly cared for Heather."

Susan Meredith, 76, who has homes in New Mexico and California, disputed any wrongdoing on her part in a brief telephone interview and said the matter was settled amicably.

“The child was very well taken care of,” she said. “I think everything is fine.”

She also called a reporter “reprehensible” for inquiring about the matter.

“Why is that your business?” Susan Meredith asked. “It’s all been taken care of. Why do you want to share that with the public and smear people’s names?”

She referred further questions to her lawyer, Robert Moore, of Frankfort, who declined to comment, citing confidentiality concerns.

King, of Texas, Heather's 74-year-old mother, declined to speak with a reporter.

But in a statement from a spokesman, King said Heather continues to thrive at the Stewart school, which specializes in caring for people with intellectual disabilities at its historic campus surrounded by trees and rolling pastures.

"Heather is doing really well and is so happy there – they really understand her and look after her," the statement said. "Don agreed that his estate would make sure Heather would always be able to stay at Stewart Home and School — it was a place I know he loved."

Franklin Commonwealth's Attorney Larry Cleveland, whose office had reviewed the case, said he decided not to seek criminal charges after the guardianship dispute involving Heather was resolved in May.

"That was a dispute between two warring factions about who was going to serve as her guardian to ensure she was properly cared for," Cleveland said. "I don’t know that there was a criminal case involved in that. It seemed to be more civil."

Cleveland said he was satisfied that the outcome is in Heather's best interests.

"I just wanted to make sure her needs were being met," Cleveland said.

Things 'so much better'

In August 2017, a week after a judge first put King in charge of her daughter's care, Heather underwent the first in a series of long-delayed dental surgeries to repair broken, damaged and infected teeth, with the trust covering the cost of nearly $20,000, records show.

In December 2017, a state social services investigation found Susan Meredith had abused, neglected and financially exploited Heather for actions including failing to ensure she received necessary dental care. The investigation also substantiated those findings against Lisa Moses, a Colorado lawyer and friend Susan Meredith added as Heather's co-guardian in 2012.

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But the state rescinded the findings this year after Moore, a lawyer for Meredith and Moses, appealed to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, denying any wrongdoing. Both women had tried to get dental care for Heather and the cabinet's findings against them are “not supported by the facts,” according to Moore's letter, included in the records.

Moses, who also was removed as Heather's guardian, declined to comment in an email, citing privacy concerns, and referred questions to Moore.

Susan Meredith, as part of the settlement in May, agreed to put additional funds into the trust to bring its value to about $1.7 million; it previously contained about $296,000, records show.

Under the settlement, King was named permanent guardian — a role she filled temporarily after Susan Meredith and Moses were removed last year — and an investment bank was put in charge of the trust.

In July, the sheriff’s department closed its criminal investigation of Susan Meredith over alleged abuse after Cleveland declined to prosecute, according to records.

Meanwhile, Heather is doing fine, according to a statement from a staff member at the Stewart school included in the records. King, as well as Heather’s brother, Michael Meredith, visit regularly and are a big part of her life, the statement said.

“Things now are so much better for Heather,” according to a Stewart “correspondent,” a staff member who maintains contact with families. “Her mother calls once a week, sends her gifts and checks on her general welfare. What a difference a mom makes, and her brother, Michael, is her hero!”

'Decay and infection’

Emails dating to 2015 detail a running dispute over Heather’s ongoing need for dental treatment, with Susan Meredith insisting the trust couldn’t pay for it, though court records indicate funds from Don Meredith’s estate were supposed to supplement costs if needed.

In 2015, prior to a dental procedure scheduled for Heather, Susan Meredith sent an email to Stewart school with the subject “CANCEL HEATHER’S SURGERY.” Susan Meredith argued the King family members should cover the costs, claiming they previously had agreed to pay but backed out.

“Apparently, they want to know why the trust isn’t paying,” she said.

“This is cosmetic surgery,” she added in the email. “The trust Don and I have for Heather does not pay for the expenses now for the Stewart Home and hasn’t for quite a while.”

Regarding the dental procedure, she added: “This is not authorized by me, her legal guardian unless the King family agrees and pays in full.”

By 2017, Heather’s untreated dental problems were far from cosmetic, according to the social services report.

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“Heather’s right central top tooth (front tooth) was broken down to a rotting nub,” the report said. Another tooth was broken down to a rotting nub, her left, top front tooth was missing and infection had spread to the bone, it said.

The delays in dental care for Heather caused “significant pain, decay and infection,” the report said.

Susan Meredith's lawyer, in his letter to state social service officials, said she was not informed Heather was in pain or in danger. The social services report said Susan Meredith and Moses had been informed as early as 2012 of Heather’s dental problems by Stewart school and a dentist.

In July 2017, Franklin District Judge Chris Olds held an emergency hearing at which he named King as Heather’s temporary guardian to ensure her daughter could get the necessary dental surgery, the social services report said.

A July 27, 2017, copy of the court order in the records cited “reasonable grounds” to remove Susan Meredith and Moses as guardians.

A week later, Heather underwent the first of three surgeries required to repair and restore her damaged teeth.

Clay Mason, a private investigator asked to look into the case by Heather Meredith’s birth family, said his review of details of Heather's care and the trust Don Meredith created indicate that her father would not have been pleased about the controversy or delays in her dental care.

“Don’s intentions,” said Mason, a retired FBI agent, “were to care for Heather her entire life.”

Father ‘larger than life’

Heather was born in 1969 after her father married Cheryl King in 1965.

She was diagnosed at around 18 months with significant intellectual and physical disabilities, including cerebral palsy, vision and speech problems and impaired gait and balance, according to Kentucky’s social services report.

Her parents divorced in 1971, with Don Meredith agreeing to provide for Heather’s care on the condition he received custody, the report said.

Despite the divorce, King recalls her ex-husband fondly, according to her spokesman, describing him as “a charismatic, loving and really caring person with a huge personality.“

Don Meredith married Susan Lessons Dullea in 1972.

In 1988, a dispute over Heather's care arose when, at age 18, she was moved to a Texas group home where she didn’t fare well, the Kentucky social services report said. It said the family resolved the dispute by agreeing to move Heather to the Stewart school in Frankfort.

A 1988 court agreement from Texas signed by Don Meredith and King states that their daughter is to live at the Stewart school, with costs covered by the trust he established. In the event funds are not sufficient, Don Meredith’s estate is to supplement the trust for Heather’s “medical, educational or custodial requirements,” the agreement said.

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Under the agreement, Don Meredith was to manage Heather's care; in the event of his death, control would pass to Susan Meredith.

By 2009, Don Meredith, who lived with his wife in New Mexico and Palm Springs, California, was in declining health, with Susan Meredith handling most details of Heather’s care, according to records from the case.

In a March 2009 email, following a visit by Heather, Susan Meredith told Stewart school officials in an email that her husband’s health had worsened.

“Don’s illness has progressed to the point where he wasn’t sure Heather was here most of the time and stayed in his room,” she said in the email.

It was Heather's last visit with her father, who died at age 72 on Dec. 5, 2010, from a brain hemorrhage.

His death prompted an outpouring of publicity about the football great hailed as “Dandy Don” and the “original and perhaps most famous Dallas Cowboy,” according to an obituary in the Dallas Morning News.

“Dandy Don Meredith was a Texas institution whose life was a veritable folk tale,” the article said, noting he was also known as the “Irrepressible One” as co-host of Monday Night Football games with Howard Cosell. “Fans never forgot his engaging wit and larger-than-life persona.”

‘Having caviar!! Ha ha’

After her husband’s death, Susan Meredith expressed increasing concern about costs of his daughter’s care, saying the trust was low on funds, according to records of her communication with school officials.

“I must decrease the expenses for all the extras at this time,” Susan Meredith wrote in a 2016 email to the school. “Don’s trust just doesn’t cover her expenses and any extras.”

In another 2016 email, she questioned the $18.64 cost of Heather’s lunch on an outing, suggesting $10 would be more reasonable “unless you are having caviar!! Ha ha.”

She asked in an email about a $127 bill for glasses for Heather, saying they would be cheaper if purchased online or at Walmart.

And she questioned costs for clothing, laundry, dry cleaning, haircuts and activities such as horseback riding and yoga classes for Heather.

“I know you have enough activities included in your program that all of these extra items are not necessary for Heather’s happiness,” she said in a 2014 email to the school. “Please send a monthly letter for me to sign to activate or eliminate any expenses needed over her basics.”

Susan Meredith said expenses might force her to move Heather from the school, where her costs average about $40,000 a year, according to financial statements in the records.

“I am trying to keep Heather at the school but with the trust not supporting her, it is difficult,” she said in a 2016 email.

Susan Meredith also asked about financial aid for Heather.

“Are you aware if there are any scholarship students,” she asked in a 2016 email. “I am trying to think ahead.”

Meanwhile, staff at the school reported that when they requested clothes, shoes or other items Heather needed, Susan Meredith responded by sending used apparel.

“When clothes were needed, Susan would send a box of her hand-me-down clothes from her closet,” said a statement from a staff member in the records. “Nothing ever new as far as clothing was sent.”

Case closed

Cleveland, the Franklin County prosecutor, said his office had been extensively involved in the case before he decided not to seek charges.

"It was really something," he said. "I spent a lot of time on it to not prosecute anything, but I think we reached the right result."

Mason, the private investigator, said he still questions the outcome saying he believes charges or at least a finding by the state of abuse or neglect were warranted, based on his investigation.

But he said he was impressed by efforts staff at the Stewart school made to ensure care for Heather throughout the controversy.

"Their employees sought out ways to make sure this young lady was cared for to the utmost," he said.

Officials with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services declined to release any records related to the case including the decision to overturn the findings of its social service officials, saying they are by law confidential.

Rissie Griffin-Wolff, a state social service worker who investigated the case and substantiated abuse, neglect and exploitation of Heather, said she stands by her findings that were approved by her supervisor. She doesn’t know why officials reversed them and said she opposed the decision.

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She recently was demoted from her job in adult protection and transferred to another job over alleged problems with her work, which she appealed, alleging she was subject to harassment and retaliation, according to state personnel records.

Griffin-Wolff reached a settlement with the state after the case went to mediation, according to personnel records.

Griffin-Wolff said she still disagrees with the cabinet's decision to overturn her findings in the Meredith case.

“I’m happy I was able to help Heather,” Griffin-Wolff said. “I don’t mind sacrificing my career to help her. Good protective social workers know that standing up for people without a voice is better than working for an organization that doesn’t support its employees.”

Deborah Yetter: 502-582-4228; dyetter@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @d_yetter. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/deborahy.