Social Services Department to Re-Examine Policy on Garnishing Wages

Social Services officials will re-examine St. Louis-area child-support garnishment amounts after it was discovered that St. Louis mass murderer Herbert Chalmers had too much taken from his paycheck. Chalmers reportedly claimed it was the over-garnishment that drove him to kill four women before killing himself. And, the Social Services Department admits a 1998 clerical error led to an over-garnishment of his wages. Janel Luck with the agency’s Family Support Division says the amount wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it was more than the agency’s policy. Luck says plans are to re-examine just the St. Louis-area files, for now, but that could expand if investigators find the problems are widespread.