Whitney Robeson's Parents Sue Jeffrey Towers, Unnamed Gunmaker Over 22-Year-Old's Fatal Shooting
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 20
Whitney Robeson's Parents Sue Jeffrey Towers, Unnamed Gunmaker Over 22-Year-Old's Fatal Shooting
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 20
Whitney Robeson's parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit accusing 54-year-old Jeffrey Towers and an unidentified gunmaker over the March 7 shooting that killed the 22-year-old Auburn graduate in Trussville, Alabama.
The complaint says Towers was showing antique firearms in his attic when he inadvertently fired a loaded .22-caliber revolver, striking Robeson in the upper chest and fatally injuring her heart and left lung.
It alleges Towers handled the weapon negligently without confirming it was unloaded and claims the revolver was defectively designed, lacked adequate safety features and was unfit for ordinary use under Alabama liability law.
Police arrested Towers last week on a manslaughter charge about two months after the shooting; he has not entered a plea, was released on $30,000 bond and is due back in court on July 22.
Defense lawyer Johnny Amari has called the shooting a tragic accident, while the civil suit seeks accountability for Robeson, who had recently started her first interior-design job at RH.
His lawyer calls it a tragic accident. The state calls it manslaughter. How will a jury decide this fatal shooting?
A fatal 'accident' with an antique gun lands a man in court. But was the weapon itself defectively designed?