As reported by NBC Miami, a lawsuit has been filed against the parents of a shooter responsible for the deaths of four family members on Thanksgiving 2009, as the parents invited the gunman, knowing he was violent, to the holiday dinner.
A couple, M.S. and J.S., that lost their 6-year-old child in the melee, filed the suit. The suit names their cousins, M.M. and C.M., as the responsible parties.
The suit was filed in West Palm Beach on September 15.
M.S. and J.S. allege that it was M.M. and C.M. that invited their son to the family dinner, knowing that he was dangerous.
M.M. and C.M. lost their two daughters in the shooting as well. M.S. and J.S. acknowledge that they each lost a loved one in the massacre, however, it was M.M. and C.M. that invited the murderer to the home without telling M.S. and J.S. beforehand.
The gunman, P.M., 37, is currently facing four first-degree murder charges - and is awaiting trial - for the shooting of his twin sisters, aunt and cousin.
The cousin, M., was M.S. and J.S.'s young daughter.
P.M. was caught forty days after the killing, after allegedly running off and finally being arrested in the Florida Keys.
There were allegedly seventeen guests in all, including M.M., C.M. and P.M., for the holiday meal.
Furthermore, M.S. and J.S. allege that P.M. was invited in secret. Neither the hosts, nor any of the other guests, knew about P.M.'s impending arrival.
J.S. said, "If someone brought a rattlesnake or a pit bull to your home, without your permission, and that pit bull started attacking and killing people, wouldn't you hold that person responsible? That's what this is. We're seeking justice with every means at our disposal."
M.M. and C.M. have not made a public statement regarding the lawsuit, or the incident, and neither was available for comment. It is unknown as to if they have retained an attorney.
The suit states that M.S. didn't know that her cousin, P.M., was coming until she overheard a telephone conversation - on that same Thanksgiving day - between M.M. and his son.
They were confirming the directions that they had given P.M. on the phone.
Prior to the incident, per M.S., she had not seen P.M. for 12 years.
The suit also alleges that a few days before Thanksgiving, C.M. said to her daughter, L.M., "I hope he doesn't come and kill us all..."
The lawsuit contends that C.M. wrote out an e-mail that read, "Everyone is going up including (P.M.)! It will be interesting to say the least."
The suit does not explain how the e-mail was located or whom it was directed to.
In believing that their daughter M. could have been saved, M.S. and J.S. allege that M.M. and C.M. did nothing to thwart the shooter in his rampage.
M. had been in her bedroom when the shooting started.
The attorney for the family, David Prather, said, "It's our position that they knew (P.M.) was coming and they were going to spring him on the (S. family) at the last possible moment so that they wouldn't be in a position to tell him 'no' or turn him away."
The suit is seeking more than $15,000 in damages.
If someone in your family has been killed in a questionable scenario, contact a wrongful death attorney to discuss your case.