"I read the news today, Oh Boy...."

[monastic]

Victims' Survivors Sue Killer's Family
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - Survivors of a father and daughter shot to death by a disturbed neighbor in a cape and helmet who later turned his gun on himself are suing the killer's family, the dealer who sold him the weapon and a support group.

Vernon Smith, 45, and his daughter Christina, 22, were killed on Oct. 29, 2005, when 19-year-old William Freund burst into their house with a 12-gauge shotgun, authorities said.

Vernon Smith's son Brandon, who escaped, and his wife Denise, who was at work during the shooting, filed suit this week in Orange County Superior Court seeking damages for wrongful death and emotional distress.

The lawsuit claims Freund's parents allowed their son to have a gun, failed to supervise him and failed to warn neighbors about his potentially violent personality.

The suit contains similar accusations about WrongPlanet.net, a Web site for people with Asperger's syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by poor communication and social skills. Freund, who suffered from the disorder, left a message at the site saying he planned to "Start a Terror Campaign to hurt those that have hurt me."

Freund's parents and WrongPlanet founder Alexander Plank declined to comment. Plank said last year that moderators attempted but failed to contact Freund's parents.
George Hueneman, owner of Saddleback Valley Gun Center, said Freund's background check for purchasing a gun came up clean. "How am I supposed to know that he was a mentally disturbed teenager who was on prescription medication?"

11/18/06 10:18 EST

[QuirkyCarla]

Does this mean they are suing Alex too?  Can karma really be that good?

[Litigious]

I've heard about this, of course, but don't know much about it. Was she an ex girlfriend?

[QuirkyCarla]

From what I read, he didn't even really know her. I don't think anyone knows for sure why he chose her.

[Litigious]

Maybe he had admired her from a distance and got some idea that he had been trying to get her attention and that she had turned him down. Maybe he was pissed off for her going to someone he thought didn't deserve her.

[Draggon]

Jesus Christ...

[McGiver]

wow, let me go get my sunday paper.

[El]

Ugh.  I feel a vague hope that WP loses, not enough to bankrupt alex for life but something to bring some peace to the victims' family.  Honestly it's too painful to think about in terms of putting myself in thier place to be sure, but I hope they find some peace.

[McGiver]

i cannot see as how WP could lose.

the moderators at the time may be asked to answer questions.
especially those who were actively involved in trying to contact his family.

[Draggon]

i cannot see as how WP could lose.

the moderators at the time may be asked to answer questions.
especially those who were actively involved in trying to contact his family.

Before my time thank Christ...
Although I am disgusted with Alex for trying profit off the incident I'm equally disgusted that WP is being singled out while other forums the kid was posting on aren't being targeted at all.  Actually I'd be just as disgusted if any forum the kid was a member of were targeted in the suit.

He did what he did and he alone should be held responsible for his own actions.  Period.

[El]

i cannot see as how WP could lose.

the moderators at the time may be asked to answer questions.
especially those who were actively involved in trying to contact his family.

Before my time thank Christ...
Although I am disgusted with Alex for trying profit off the incident I'm equally disgusted that WP is being singled out while other forums the kid was posting on aren't being targeted at all.  Actually I'd be just as disgusted if any forum the kid was a member of were targeted in the suit.

He did what he did and he alone should be held responsible for his own actions.  Period.

Not before my time, but I stayed out of it, from what I remember.

[Nomaken]

As much as i think alex is a bad leader, i hope WP doesnt get hurt by this.

[hiroshima]

Exactly a week before my time.

It will be interesting to see how this unrolls.

Yes, the WP mods tried to contact his parents, but did they contact the police?  If not it could appear that while they took it seriously, they did not act enough.

Yet what is the responsibility of a message board towards its posters?

How many people threaten to commit suicide on WP?  An awful lot.

[Scrapheap]

As much as i think alex is a bad leader, i hope WP doesnt get hurt by this.

I agree Alex may be a douche at times, but he doesn't deserve this, nor is he responsible since the staff at WP was trying to contact his parents.

[Litigious]

If William Freund didn't make specific threats to those persons, whom he actually later turned out to kill, there can be no blame on WP. Absolutely ridiculous. A message board isn't some kind of police squad.