Eighteen years after the death of Kalil McCoy, her surviving family has been awarded $500 million in damages.
In 2001, McCoy, 20, was shot in the head by Frederick Lee Wade, 19, after an argument over opening a window inside a vehicle. According to reports, Wade and two other men in the car at the time discarded McCoy’s body and concocted a story about what happened. Her body was found two days later.
Lynette Roebuck, McCoy’s mother blamed Wade for her daughter’s death. He was originally sentenced to life in prison, but after winning a retrial, is now serving a reduced 45-year-prison sentence.
“Wade will still have a little bit of life left. But this will always be over your head. If you get a dime, it is not going to be your dime. It will be Kalil’s dime,” Roebuck said.
“He still gets an opportunity to get out of prison and live. He could be 70 on a cane walking around to a park or movies. But my daughter can’t do any of that. This will make a statement and let people know,”
The other men involved, Kennard Deshun Mahone and Jonathon Marichal Brooks, served one year in county jail with 12 years probation. They were also named in the civil suit.
Despite the ruling, it’s unlikely all three men will pay the sum in total. Wade has constantly said McCoy’s death was an accident, claiming the gun went off accidentally.