Settlement Calls For $1 Million Payment to Family of California Woman Killed by Husband
By Justin Pritchard
Originally published by The Associated Press, June 19, 2002
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Authorities will pay $1 million to the family of a battered woman killed by her estranged husband after sheriff's deputies allegedly failed to enforce a restraining order against him.
Sonoma County supervisors, without admitting either negligence or wrongdoing, approved the settlement Tuesday on the second day of a federal court trial. Payment will be made to the mother and three children of Maria Teresa Macias, 36, who was shot to death in April 1996.
"I have fulfilled my daughter's wish," said Macias' mother, Sara Hernandez, who was wounded in the attack by her son-in-law, Avelino Macias. He then killed himself.
The case established a legal precedent two years ago when a federal appeals court ruled Macias' family could try to prove the county sheriff violated equal protection of the laws by brushing off the abused woman's complaints because she was a woman, a Hispanic and a domestic violence victim.
The family had sought $15 million in its federal lawsuit. Hernandez had just completed her testimony when the settlement from Sonoma County was announced during a recess in the case.
According to the family, Macias had approached sheriff's deputies at least nine times in the weeks before she was killed asking them to shield her from her husband's stalking and threats, as her restraining order mandated. She was fatally shot as she and Hernandez headed to a cleaning job.
"We don't believe the sheriff's department in any way discriminated against Macias, but we do believe it's in the best interest of everyone involved, including the children, to bring closure to the case," said Paul Kelley, vice chairman of Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
The Macias family lawyer, Rick Seltzer, said he was disappointed the jurors didn't decide the case, perhaps setting a legal precedent for police liability but was happy for the family.
"These are people that don't have a lot of money, that don't have a lot of opportunities," Seltzer said.
