Chardon school shooting victim's dad dies on anniversary
2/27/2014The father of one of three teens killed in a northeast Ohio school shooting was found dead today, the second anniversary of his son’s death, a sheriff’s investigator said.
A family member found 48-year-old Russell King Sr. dead inside his home, said Lt. John Hiscox of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department. There were no signs of foul play, he said. The cause of death had not been determined and a coroner was investigating.
“Whatever transpired, there’s no question Russell King is another victim of this tragic shooting two years ago today,” said Craig Bashein, an attorney who represents the family in a wrongful death lawsuit.
King’s 17-year-old son, Russell King Jr., was one of three students killed in the shooting at Chardon High School east of Cleveland. Three other students were wounded.
T.J. Lane, who was at the school waiting for a bus to an alternative school, took a .22-caliber pistol and a knife to the high school and fired 10 shots at a group of students inside the cafeteria on Feb. 27, 2012, prosecutors said.
Daniel Parmertor and Demetrius Hewlin, both 16, also were killed.
Lane, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty and is serving three life sentences. At his sentencing last March, he wore a T-shirt with “killer” scrawled across it and cursed and gestured obscenely to relatives of victims in the courtroom.
Investigators said he admitted to the shooting but said he didn’t know why he did it.
Families of the three students who died filed a wrongful-death lawsuit last year against the teenage gunman and his family. The suit alleged negligent supervision by Lane’s parents and grandparents.
Attorneys said the families hope the lawsuit, which is still pending, would resolve unanswered questions and ensure that Lane doesn’t profit from his crimes.