A civil lawsuit filed by Carsten and Sally Ellison against the Catholic Diocese of Superior in connection with the death of their son, James, has been rejected, and an appeal is unlikely. The courts had previously ruled that Fr. Ryan Erickson likely shot and killed both James Ellison and Daniel O'Connell in 2002. Erickson later hanged himself outside the church soon after authorities began investigating his possible involvement in the double homicide.
The Ellisons were seeking unspecified damages for their son's death, claiming that the Diocese knew that there were allegations of sexual assault and other abusive behaviors linked to Erickson, were overlooked.
Now Eau Claire County Judge Paul Lenz has rejected their claim that the church should have known that more drastic measures were needed for Erickson to avoid certain tragedy. The judge ruled that it was not realistic to expect church officials to foresee that Erickson would kill.
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