The family of a slain 83-year-old Texas woman have been awarded $7.3 billion in damages against Charter Communications – after an off-duty cable messenger stabbed them to death during a robbery gone wrong, according to a report.
Betty Thomas was murdered in December 2019 by licensed killer Roy Holden Jr. — an off-duty worker for charter company Spectrum Cable — who had come to her home in Irving for a service call the day before, according to a report by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The next day, Holden returned in his uniform and his work van, which he accessed with a company keycard, to rob Thomas. In doing so, he stabbed her and left her to die in front of her television.
Holden was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty last year, the outlet reported.
A Dallas County jury found Charter liable in Thomas’ death and awarded her family the amazing settlement on Tuesday.
The jury returned a $7 billion punitive damages verdict — in the criminal portion of the trial — after awarding the family $357 million in damages late last month, the news site reported.
Roy Holden Jr., an off-duty worker for charter company Spectrum Cable, was sentenced to life in prison for the heinous murder. Irving Police Department
83-year-old Betty Thomas was killed by Holden as he entered the Texas woman’s home and robbed her. Facebook
Spectrum is responsible for 90% of the damage.
“This was a shocking breach of trust by a company that sends workers into millions of homes each year,” Thomas family attorney Chris Hamilton said in a statement. “This judgment rightly reflects the extensive evidence of the nature of the damage caused by Charter Spectrum’s gross negligence and reckless misconduct.”
Meanwhile, Charter said she plans to appeal the verdict, which alleges Holden is at fault.
“Following this senseless and tragic crime, our hearts go out to Ms Thomas’s family,” Charter said in a statement, according to the report. “Responsibility for this horrible act rests solely with Mr Holden, who was off duty, and we are grateful he is serving life in prison.”
“While we respect the jury and the justice system, we strongly disagree with the verdict,” the statement said.
The company is responsible for 90% of the damage owed but says it plans to appeal the verdict
Charter claimed it was an unpredictable crime by Holden, who had no criminal record and passed his background check, the outlet reported.
The trial lasted over two weeks, and the jury heard arguments from lawyers for the victim’s family that the company had been negligent in selecting, hiring and monitoring employees. They also argued that the company overlooked warning signs from Holden and failed to regulate the use of company vehicles, the outlet reported.
The jury heard testimony that Holden had repeatedly complained to supervisors about how he had faced difficult financial times following his divorce. At one meeting, he even started crying at work, the outlet reported.
Holden told investigators that he went back to Thomas’s home “because I was broke… I was hungry.”