A Sedgwick County jury decided in October 2006, that a Wichita television station had defamed a man by publicly naming has as one of the prime suspects in the BTK serial killings. The television station has filed an appeal recently in the Kansas Supreme Court stating that it did nothing wrong and shouldn't be penalized.
Roger Valdez was arrested in relation to other minor charges but was never named as one of the suspects in the case. He was later cleared of all charges on the basis of DNA tests. After KSN network named him as one of the suspects in the case on a 1 December, 2004 news report on television, Valdez filed a lawsuit against the network. In 2006, the jury awarded Valdez $1.1 million in damages. Valdez died a month after the trial.
After Valdez's death the jury dismissed the defamation verdict and reduced the total damages to $250,000 on the outrageous conduct claim alone. While members of Valdez's estate want to get the defamation verdict reinstated, the KSN network wants the decision to stand but wants the outrageous conduct verdict to be dismissed.
On February 2005 Dennis Radar was arrested in connection with the murders. He is now serving ten consecutive life sentences at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.
To read more about the case click here.
Roger Valdez was arrested in relation to other minor charges but was never named as one of the suspects in the case. He was later cleared of all charges on the basis of DNA tests. After KSN network named him as one of the suspects in the case on a 1 December, 2004 news report on television, Valdez filed a lawsuit against the network. In 2006, the jury awarded Valdez $1.1 million in damages. Valdez died a month after the trial.
After Valdez's death the jury dismissed the defamation verdict and reduced the total damages to $250,000 on the outrageous conduct claim alone. While members of Valdez's estate want to get the defamation verdict reinstated, the KSN network wants the decision to stand but wants the outrageous conduct verdict to be dismissed.
On February 2005 Dennis Radar was arrested in connection with the murders. He is now serving ten consecutive life sentences at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.
To read more about the case click here.
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