BERLIN -- The family of a woman found murdered along a rural road in northern Worcester County last August has filed a wrongful death civil suit against the church where she worked and its pastor.
Last August, a Worcester County grand jury indicted Matthew N. Burton, 29, of Dagsboro, on eight counts including first-degree murder and first-degree rape in the death of Nicole Bennett, 35, of Millsboro, whose body was found on a roadside embankment in Whaleyville in Worcester County on the morning of June 15 last year.
On April 17, the victim’s husband, Kevin Bennett, and his family filed a wrongful death suit in Delaware Superior Court against the Bay Shore Community Church in Millsboro and Pastor Danny Tice, alleging the defendants were aware of Burton’s rape convictions and violent past and allowed him to work alone at the church with Nicole Bennett on the night she was murdered.
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14 comments:
There are a lot of born again wannabe Christians in these so called churches. I have always been leery of these fly by night non-denominational churches. Many times the pastor has a sketchy or criminal back ground. They hide behind the cloth and a lot of marital affairs, cheating and stealing go on. Now it's murder. Find a good denominational church and attend one.
"“The death of Nicole Bennett was a direct and proximate cause of the negligent actions of Tice, who was acting in the scope of his employment when he failed to adequately warn Nicole Bennett of the risk presented by fellow employee Burton, and this failure led to Nicole Bennett’s death,” the suit reads."
While I do feel Tice should have warned church employees about Burton (though employers aren't obiligated to do so, so that makes negligence a gray area)--- I think it's going to be nearly impossible to prove promimate cause which exists when the death was a foreseeable result of negligence. You gotta first prove negligence and then promimate cause.
Another thing Burton was a custodian who it appears generally worked after hours. Was in customary for employees to come in after hours to do work? Was Tice aware of this? A lot to prove for the church to be held liable.
your comment is just wow, evidence?
seen the catholic denomination lately?
all that has to be proven is that Tice knew of an employees past propensity for violence and allowed him to be near other employees. Even if she did not normally work when he did if there was even the remotest possibility they could have been near each other Tice was negligent in providing a safe environment. A large amount of case law exists on this
Does non-denominational suggest that the pastor will be financially responsible for the cost of his defense?I seem to recall legal matters involving Catholic priests and Methodist ministers where their main headquarters provided funding.If he alone has to foot the bill the church might fold.A lot of you will read this and say "good" or "so what",but I was just curious.
I don't think a "remotest possibility" cuts it 6:51. Proximate cause has to be proven and that means the murder would have had to have been foreseeable.
Even the state of DE had him classified as a Tier 1 low risk offender.
On top of that negligence has to be proven and again employers are under no legal obligation to inform employees if there is a sexual offender in the workplace. They can (without repercussion from the SO) but are under no obligation to inform.
The whole story is heartbreaking and I do think an employer has not only an ethical duty but also a moral duty to warn employees of a SO in the workplace.
I think the family is right. Danny should've known better. Now, a person is dead and another will hopefully spend the rest of his miserable life in jail, or lose it due to the death penalty.
Playing the Christianity card in a case like this is almost as bad as the race card. More people in this world have been killed in the name of religion than for any other reason. Try to separate fact from fiction. Try to see the fact that this death could have been prevented if only one person with a past had not been allowed to operate in total freedom. The fact that knowledge was present and nothing was done denotes culpability. Simple fact.
Anonymous said...
your comment is just wow, evidence?
seen the catholic denomination lately?
May 2, 2013 at 6:20 PM
Yes, I am Catholic and I haven't seen any murders lately or for that matter at all. Did I strike a nerve about your fake church?
Anonymous 5:35, I think someone should check your passed, what a statement you made.Non-denominiational churchs get away from the same boring service, reading a prayer, little fluff so you don't offend anyone. Allowing gays in the pulpit against God word. Danny Tice made a bad choice in allowing the man to stay on for two weeks.As a minister, I guess he was trying to help him.But there are some people you can not help.
christians being christians. Nothing new to see here. Oh crap, we landed on the moon everybody!
Gee, 448, thanks for the ADHD moment there. Hey! Look over there!
I wonder what the law would say about any violation of the perp's civil rights by exposing his record to fellow employees in the light that he was not incarcerated and owed no debt to society and had the right to seek employment...would that be a violation of his civil right to gain employment? I'm no lawyer, just an employer, and just plain don't know this one.
you're right the Catholic priest don't murder people they murder their souls when they rape little boys
Anonymous said...
There are a lot of born again wannabe Christians in these so called churches. I have always been leery of these fly by night non-denominational churches. Many times the pastor has a sketchy or criminal back ground. They hide behind the cloth and a lot of marital affairs, cheating and stealing go on. Now it's murder. Find a good denominational church and attend one.
May 2, 2013 at 5:35 PM
wow. They say churches are hospitals for sinners. You definitely need healing. Ever hear of that verse that says to remove the plank from your own eye....?
Seems to me the family is seeking money and maybe some revenge.
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