As reported by the Huffington Post and other news media, the family of a woman that died after being shot a dozen times is suing the internet website that the convicted murderer purchased the weapon from.
D.S., 20, illegally purchased a .40 caliber handgun from B.L. over Armslist.com – a website similar in style to Craigslist.com except that it deals in gun sales – that he then used to kill his former girlfriend, J.V., on April 13, 2011.
The gun purchase was illegal. D.S. had traveled to Washington to get the gun from B.L., however, it is illegal to sell guns in Washington to non-Washington residents. Allegedly, due to this issue, D.S. paid B.L. an extra $200 to make the deal anyway.
D.S. is currently serving a life sentence and B.L. is serving a one-year sentence.
The family believes that the prison sentences are not enough and are seeking to punish Armslist as well.
A.V., J.V.'s brother, filed the suit along with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
The suit states, "Armslist breached [its] duty by designing its website to encourage its users to circumvent existing gun laws. Users of Armslist.com could easily evade gun laws with a simple 'click of the mouse.' Armslist ... like (D.S.) and the gun seller, must now be held accountable."
In 1999 EBay banned the sale of guns to be listed on their site. In 2007 Craigslist also banned gun listings. However, other websites took up the surplus, including Armslist, to handle personal gun sales.
The president of the First Amendment Center, Ken Paulson, commented, "It would be an uphill battle for someone to prevail in a lawsuit against this website, but it's not impossible. In the end, it will be about their [Armslist's] awareness of the users and whether they're aiding and abetting criminal activity."
In a precedent-setting case, the "Hit Man", a federal judge allowed relatives of triple homicide victims to sue the book publisher, Paladin Press, because the killer had read their book, "Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors" prior to committing the murders.
Though the book's forward specifically states that is can be used as an "instruction book on murder" Armslist disclaimer purposely asks that buyers and sellers obey the law. The Armslist disclaimer reads, "Always comply with local, state, federal, and international law. ARMSLIST does not become involved in transactions between parties. Report Illegal Firearms Activity to 1-800-ATF-GUNS."
In 2008 D.S. and A.V. met online and began dating. At the time D.S. was 17 and A.V. was 33. In 2009 A.V. broke if off with D.S. and eventually filed a police complaint against D.S. for harassment. In 2011, just prior to the shooting, D.S. traveled to Chicago to place a GPS monitoring device onto A.V.'s vehicle.
While in her car, in the parking lot of the Czechoslovak Heritage Museum, D.S. shot her to death. D.S. turned himself in afterwards.
There are many types of cases that involve wrongful death. If you believe that you have lost a loved one due to the fault or negligence of another party, contact a personal injury lawyer for help.