The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently dismissed a $2 million wrongful death lawsuit brought by the mother of an Ohio woman who was kidnapped and murdered by her estranged husband in November 2006.

Lori Bailey obtained a civil protection order against John Bailey, her husband, from the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas on October 25, 2006. The order stipulated that Bailey must immediately vacate the couple's home and turn over all the deadly weapons he owned. Three deputies - including Patricia Bailey, John Bailey's sister - went to the home. Once there, Patricia Bailey stated that the order was not properly executed, and the deputies allowed Bailey to cause damage to the home and take weapons out of the house.

The following day, Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth arrested Bailey for violating the order. Bailey posted bond and was released the same day. He killed his wife a week later. All three deputies, plus their supervisor, were subsequently fired from the sheriff's office, and criminal charges were filed against the three deputies who went to Lori Bailey's home.

The wrongful death suit was filed against the Fayette County Sheriff's Office and Fayette County Commissioners, alleging that the deputies' actions on October 25 caused Lori Bailey's death.
 
The court, however, ruled otherwise, finding that the deputies' failure to enforce the protection order and the murder were separate incidents, with the former not being the cause of Bailey's death.

Calling the murder "a tragedy," Stanforth stated that his office hadn't "hid anything or glossed anything o ver." He stated that firing the deputies was an appropriate response and "what needed to be done."


Related Resource: www.recordherald.com "Bailey wrongful death suit dismissed" August 23, 2010