A stricken widower is suing the parents of four teenagers who dismembered his 73-year-old wife by viciously dragging her along behind her own SUV during a fatal carjacking.
Rickey Frickey launched the lawsuit to hold the parents ‘responsible’, his attorney said, holding them partly to blame for his late wife Linda’s March 2022 death in a newly filed suit, seeking at least $50,000 in damages.
After the final perpetrator, John Honore, 18, was convicted of murder this week, Linda’s grieving husband is suing Honore’s parents and those of three others involved.
Honore’s accomplices, Briniyah Baker, 17, Lenyra Theophile, 16, and Mar’Qel Curtis, all took plea deals that saw them convicted for manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years behind bars last month.
Frickey’s lawsuit was put on ice until Honore’s trial concluded, and he is now seeking over $50,000 for wrongful death, loss of income, and emotional suffering.
Frickey’s attorney said the lawsuit intends to show ‘what may happen to parents if they’re not involved trying to ensure these things don’t happen.’
Linda Frickey, 73, was killed in March 2022 in a fatal carjacking when she was targeted by four teenagers
John Honore, 18, was convicted of second degree murder this week over the killing. The conclusion of his trial led Frickey’s widower to launch his lawsuit against the perpetrator’s parents
Briniyah Baker, 17, Lenyra Theophile, 16, and Mar’Qel Curtis (pictured) pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter before Honore’s conviction
Rickey Frickey, Linda’s grieving widower, is launching a lawsuit against the killers’ parents to hold them ‘responsible.’ At a vigil for his wife last year, he paid a heartbreaking tribute to his late wife, saying ‘it’s just hard going on without her’
When Linda Frickey was attacked last year, shocking surveillance footage captured the moment the four youths zeroed in on her car, ripping open the door and tearing her out of the vehicle.
They sped away with the 73-year-old grandmother still in the car, trapped by her seatbelt, until the force severed one of her arms. She died of her injuries shortly afterwards.
The crime shocked New Orleans, which is currently America’s murder capital, and sparked national headlines because of its appalling violence.
After police shared surveillance footage from the day of the attack in a search for information, one of the girls’ mothers recognized her and marched her to the police station.
Attorneys for Hodges, who was refused a plea deal by prosecutors, argued that he was an idiotic adolescent who didn’t have the ability to understand the weight of the consequences of his actions.
But the teen was convicted on Tuesday after a jury took less than four hours to come to a decision, and he now faces a mandatory life sentence on second degree murder.
At a vigil for the grandmother last year, Rickey paid a heartbreaking tribute to his late wife after her life was ended so abruptly.
‘I love her and I miss her very much,’ he told WDSU. ‘It’s just hard going on without her, she did everything.’
Speaking beside her gravestone, he continued: ‘I come here every Sunday morning to see her… sometimes I don’t believe it.’
The grandmother screamed for her assailants to let her go before her arm was severed and clothes were torn off
Now the four teenagers involved have been convicted, Frickey’s attorney, Donald Hodges, said he was able to move ahead with the lawsuit.
‘In this instance, it’s about proving that parents will be held responsible and liable for acts such as this,’ Hodges said.
‘I think it’s part of the larger issue of understanding what may happen to parents if they’re not involved trying to ensure these things don’t happen,’ he told WWL.
He added that Frickey is looking into the possibility of expanding the lawsuit.
‘We are considering options that could possibly include the City of New Orleans, the Office of Juvenile Justice, the State of Louisiana and various actors that we believe that the people involved here have had an ongoing problem that contributed to this culture that lead to the death and murder of Mrs. Frickey,’ he said.
Initially filed in March, the lawsuit was put on hold to wait for the criminal proceedings to be concluded. While he is seeking $50,000, Hodges said there is no monetary amount that can replace Linda’s loss, and said the damages could rise upwards of a million dollars.
‘It’s just a matter of who’s going to pay that. We understand the reality here of it may never be paid but I think it’s important for a sense of judgement for Linda as well as to let people know the actions of your children, you’re responsible.’
In a letter to Frickey’s family, Hodges begged for mercy before his trial.
‘To the family of Ms. Linda Frickey, I am John and I am so sorry I apologize for you having to go through what you are going through. No person’s family should have to go through that type of hurt,’ he wrote.
Honore wrote a letter to Frickey’s family to beg for mercy
‘I made the biggest mistake of my life that day. I think about what you and the family may be going through every day. I say the ‘our father’ prayer every day and night.
‘I ask for forgiveness everyday. I have wanted to write you all a letter for a long time but I didn’t know what to say and I still don’t know what to say.
‘I just want you to know sincerely I am sorry.
‘I know words may change how you feel but I want you to know that I’m aware of how serious this is and I think I am doing the right thing.’
After his conviction, members of Frickey’s family celebrated.
‘I hope he feels the fear that she had in her heart that day. I hope he feels the pain and he hears himself scream for mercy and it doesn’t come,’ one relative said.