Parents Of Murdered Teen Get Almost $1.8M In Judgment
CROFTON, Md. (WJZ) -- Her son was murdered by a group of teenagers while riding his bicycle home. Now Christopher Jones' parents win a nearly $1.8 million judgment against one of her son's killers.
Derek Valcourt explains the judgment brings to an end a nearly four-year legal battle for the victim's family.
Christopher Jones' mother expects she will hardly see any of the $1.75 million she won against her son's killer but she says there's justice in knowing that judgment will follow him around the rest of his life.
"We finally have some closure," said Jones' mother, Jenny Adkins.
Jenny Adkins has thought of her son, Christopher Jones, every day since his death in May 2009. That's when a group of six teenagers stopped the 14-year-old as he was riding his bicycle. Two of those teens then began punching Jones, a beating that took his life.
Two of the teens served a year and a half in juvenile detention for the crime. Now a judge has dealt a crippling $1.75 million judgment against Javal George, the teen who threw the deadly punch that killed Jones.
"He'll never have anything. He'll be reminded for the rest of his natural life that he took my son's life--and that in itself is a victory," Adkins said.
Since George has no money to pay the claim now, her attorneys say they will be there to haunt him his entire life.
"So every time Javal George goes to get a job, Jenny Adkins and her legal team will be there to get a garnishment of wages--that's allowed under the law. Any time he goes to get a house, that's going to be on his credit report to prevent that," said her lawyer.
"Even if he meets a girl and he wants to get married, he's going to have to explain to that woman that he killed someone and, because of that, they can never have anything together," Adkins said.
Christopher Jones' parents have already agreed to confidential settlements with the families of the other five teens involved in their son's death but what they still have never received from any of them is an apology.
"They are walking through life, they killed someone and they have no remorse at all," Adkins said.
While Adkins waits for some of that settlement money to come in, she says she'll continue working to help at-risk kids in her son's memory.
Family members say Christopher Jones planned to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Prince George's County Sheriff's Deputy.
