SPRINGBORO — The biological mother of slain toddler Marcus Fiesel has filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages against various agencies, as well as the foster parents charged in her son's death.

"It's not about the money," attorney Kevin Hughes said Tuesday during a news conference outside his office. "It's about accountability. We do not want this to happen again."

Springboro attorneys Hughes and Jennifer Coatney, representing Donna Trevino, of Middletown, filed the civil lawsuit in Butler County Common Pleas Court Tuesday afternoon.

Butler County Probate Court Judge Randy Rogers on Friday approved paperwork naming Trevino the administrator of Marcus' estate — giving her legal standing to file the civil suit.

Trevino, accompanied by her boyfriend Harry Cowgill, fired back when questioned about her parenting skills: "They don't know about me because they didn't walk in my shoes or Marcus'."

In April, authorities removed three of Trevino's children — Michael, 10, Marcus, 3, and Peaches, 13 months — from her Middletown home after Marcus was found wandering the streets and police found "very bad living conditions." Marcus previously had fallen from a bedroom window, according to authorities.

Hamilton County officials have alleged that the developmentally disabled boy died after his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll Jr., bound him in a blanket and tape Aug. 4 and left him in a closet in their Clermont County home for two days while they attended a family reunion in Kentucky. They also are accused of falsely reporting that Marcus disappeared Aug. 15 while with Liz Carroll at a park in Hamilton County. David Carroll Jr. is accused of disposing of Marcus' body by burning it in an abandoned chimney in Brown County.

The Carrolls are being held in the Hamilton County Jail on $10.1 million bond each on charges that include involuntary manslaughter.

Butler County Children Services, under a contract with Lifeway for Youth foster care agency, placed all the children in separate foster homes.

The lawsuit names Butler County commissioners, Butler County Children Services, Lifeway for Youth, David and Liz Carroll, and Amy Baker as co-defendants in the case. Baker lived with the Carrolls while Marcus was in their care.

The lawsuit alleges that the Carrolls mentally and physically abused Marcus and that Lifeway for Youth failed to remove him from their home "even though the abuse had been taking place and was ongoing up to the time of his death."

The lawsuit reiterates the police allegations concerning Marcus' last days, bound in a blanket inside a closet with no food, water or supervision.

"As a result, Marcus Fiesel died but only after he had suffered great pain of his body and mind," the lawsuit states.

The suit also alleges negligence on the part of Butler County and its agencies, as well as Lifeway for Youth.

Attempts to reach Butler County commissioners Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The suit is seeking $2.5 million in punitive damages and $2.5 million in compensatory damages.

Even after Marcus was removed from her home, Trevino said she saved some of his possessions and she planned to be reunited with her two other children.

She refused to answer additional questions.

A fund has been established at Fifth Third Bank in Marcus' name. Originally, the money was earmarked for his funeral. But after Butler County agreed to pay those expenses, the fund will assist families with developmentally disabled children, the attorneys said.

Coatney said she hopes the money keeps other children with disabilities from having the "same fate as Marcus."