A Stephenville man whose wife was fatally bludgeoned by their teenage son is suing Erath County.
Jimmy Roberson contends county employees contributed to her death by not following judicial policy after the boy previously assaulted her.
He seeks $7.5 million in damages, including physical and mental pain and suffering and lost earnings, in his suit filed in federal court in Fort Worth.
Last year as part of a plea agreement, Cody Roberson pleaded guilty to killing his mother with an aluminum baseball bat and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
He was 17 when he killed Jana Roberson at their Stephenville home in January 2007, a month after he assaulted her during a separate incident and was later placed on pretrial release.
The lawsuit alleges that Cody Roberson didn't qualify for pretrial release since he earlier was arrested for assaulting his father, who was 66 at the time and considered elderly.
The suit also names Cody Roberson and his then-15-year-old girlfriend, who was present at the time of the murder but wasn't considered a suspect.
