FAMILY SUES OVER TEEN'S PARTY DEATH A.V. SCHOOL DISTRICT AMONG DEFENDANTS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff WriterLANCASTER - The parents of slain teen-ager Christopher O'Leary have filed a wrongful death The taking of the life of an individual resulting from the willful or negligent act of another person or persons. If a person is killed because of the wrongful conduct of a person or persons, the decedent's heirs and other beneficiaries may file a wrongful death action suit against the three former Littlerock High School Littlerock High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Littlerock, California. It is the a part of the Antelope Valley High School District (AVHSD). External links
In two separate lawsuits, the family also is suing the Antelope Valley Union High School District The Antelope Valley Union High School District (A.V.U.H.S.D.) is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County. The district includes eight public high schools, one trade school, and two continuation high schools in the cities of Palmdale , and the principal and football coach at Littlerock High School, claiming that officials failed to properly discipline O'Leary's attackers for previous incidents. ``School authority defendants ... did, in fact, conspire con·spire v. con·spired, con·spir·ing, con·spires v.intr. 1. To plan together secretly to commit an illegal or wrongful act or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action. 2. among and between themselves to do nothing to supervise or punish football player defendants ... so as to not detrimentally affect the performance of the football team ... at Littlerock High School by (their) removal ... ,'' one lawsuit said. One lawsuit was filed by O'Leary's mother and stepfather, Kathleen and Kenneth Harris, his two younger sisters, and O'Leary's girlfriend, Stacy Holzer. The other suit was filed by O'Leary's father, Michael O'Leary Michael O'Leary is the name of a number of prominent people:
High school district officials deny responsibility. They rejected in January and again in February legal claims filed by the Harrises, who asked for $2 million in damages. O'Leary, an 18-year-old former Littlerock High student, was punched and kicked just after midnight May 20, 2000 when he went to pick up Holzer at a football team member's 18th birthday party. He died three days later. Richard Newton Richard Newton (1777 – 1798) was an English caricaturist. Short lived but brilliant British Caricaturist. He published his first caricature at 13. Pioneer of the strip form of cartoon. , 18, was sentenced in February to four years in state prison for involuntary manslaughter The act of unlawfully killing another human being unintentionally. Most unintentional killings are not murder but involuntary manslaughter. The absence of the element of intent is the key distinguishing factor between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. and assault. Rodney Woods, 18, entered a no contest plea to assault and was sentenced to a year in jail. The assault charge was for beating Kevin Walker For other persons of the same name, see Walker. Kevin Walker is the name of:
Charges relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc O'Leary's death were dropped against Woods. Marcus Raines, 18, is awaiting trial on murder and assault charges. All three defendants were minors at the time of the offense but were ruled unfit to be tried as juveniles. The high school district had earlier rejected a claim filed by the Harrises, in which they were seeking $2 million in damages. Their lawsuit described the birthday party in the 38100 block of Boxthorn Street in Palmdale as a ``school district-sanctioned event,'' court records show. School and district officials ``negligently permitted said defendants with violent propensities to be in a position where they could endanger decedent An individual who has died. The term literally means "one who is dying," but it is commonly used in the law to denote one who has died, particularly someone who has recently passed away. and other students despite a 'zero tolerance policy,''' the suit said. In August 2000, district officials said they were investigating whether Newton and Woods escaped discipline for prior fights. The results of that probe have never been made public. The probe was prompted by sheriff's reports of two incidents, including one in July 1999 in which Newton and Woods were accused of punching and throwing paint on another boy during a graffiti cleanup day in Littlerock. Newton and another student were cited after a fistfight in the boys locker room in 1998. In March 1999, a teacher said he saw Newton and Woods hit and kick another student. Raines was suspended from school twice for five days, each time for fighting, a prosecutor said. |
|
||||||||||||

Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion