A man facing charges of murdering two Tampa police officers has been named in a wrongful death suit, as the widows would like to collect any and all funds that have been deposited into his jail canteen account and contribute it to a fallen officer fund, as reported by The Tampa Tribune.
D.M. is currently housed in a Hillsborough County jail cell awaiting trial for the murders of officers J.K. and D.C.
D.M. uses his canteen account – built with monies deposited at different periods by his family members – to purchase snacks, books, toiletries and small electronics.
The officer's widows, S.K and K.C., filed the wrongful death lawsuit in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. The two claim that D.M.'s actions have deprived them of their husband's income and companionship.
K.C. said, "I don't think he deserves that extra money to get what he pleases. It's not about the money. It's about that he doesn't have all these (additional) rights and privileges."
It is the intention of both women that if they win their lawsuit any and all funds awarded will not be spent by them, but instead, given over as a donation to the Gold Shield Foundation.
The purpose of the Gold Shield Foundation is to collect and distribute funds to the spouses and children of police officers that lost their lives in the line of duty. Funds are particularly helpful for college tuitions.
The two officers were killed almost two years ago. The lawsuit was filed on June 29, just under the two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death lawsuit.
Mark Wright is the attorney representing both women in the suit. Wright said, "He (D.M.) should not receive any benefits for what he did to these two officers. Our goal is that this guy doesn't profit one penny for what he did."
The women got the idea for filing the suit after speaking to the wife of another fallen officer. They had met with C.R., who had filed a lawsuit against the man, now on death row, who killed her husband.
C.R. also filed for the contents of the canteen account belonging to her husband's killer.
Col. J.P., the man in charge of the Hillsborough County jails, said that D.M. currently has less than $3 in his canteen account. However, since his arrest in July of 2010, there has been over $2,000 in deposits.
At any one time an inmate is not allowed to have over $1,000 in his account.
Deposits, according to J.P., are always from family members and usually in increments of $50 or less. J.P. said, "Every single name on (the list) here I recognize as a relative."
Of her reason in selecting the foundation as the beneficiary of any award, K.C. said, "They help so many people, it's an extreme security blanket."
Morris expects the criminal trial to proceed prior to the lawsuit being heard.
There are many ways a wrongful death lawsuit can be managed, with monetary awards being the most common outcome. If you think that you may have lost a loved one due to a wrongful death please contact a personal injury lawyer for help today!