Court overturns $1.5 million judgment in American Beauty murder case

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | Friday, October 19, 2007 6:10 PM PDT ∞

San Diego County is off the hook for the $1.5 million it was told to pay to the family of a man whose wife ---- then a toxicologist with the county medical examiner's office ---- murdered him with drugs she swiped from her office, an appeals court ruled Friday.

Kristin Rossum is serving a life sentence for killing her husband, Gregory de Villers, in November 2000, after he threatened to reveal that Rossum had slipped back into methamphetamine use and was embroiled in an affair with her supervisor.

De Villers died of an overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. Rossum was convicted by a jury in 2002.

The case earned the moniker "American Beauty" in the media, after it was revealed that rose petals were found sprinkled around de Villers' body ---- reminiscent of a scene in the Oscar-winning film, which was reportedly Rossum's favorite.

De Villers' family filed a civil suit against Rossum and the county for wrongful death. Earlier this year, the jury ordered Rossum to pay $4.5 million to her former in-laws, and the county to hand over $1.5 million to them.

On Friday, a panel of judges from the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, reversed the judgment against the county, finding the local government was neither directly nor vicariously liable for Rossum's actions.

"The evidence appears undisputed that no one ---- including de Villers or other family members ---- had actual knowledge that Rossum posed a threat to de Villers," Associate Justice Alex McDonald wrote in the 33-page opinion.

Associate Justices Joan Irion and James McIntyre concurred with the opinion.

Senior Deputy County Counsel Deborah McCarthy, who represents the county, said the justices made the correct legal decision.

"This should have been decided in our favor a year and a half ago," county attorney Deborah McCarthy said Friday. "It's a question of law, not an issue of fact."

De Villers' family argued that the county failed to do a background check on Rossum ---- a recovering drug addict with a juvenile drug arrest ---- before hiring her.

The family also maintained the medical examiner's office, where Rossum worked, should have prevented Rossum from stealing drugs and should have noticed the drugs were gone.

The de Villerses' attorney, Candace Carroll, did not immediately return a call for comment Friday.

The family has the option of asking the Supreme Court to review the ruling, but must file the request within 60 days.

At her trial, Rossum claimed de Villers was despondent over their failing marriage and killed himself. Prosecutors said she staged her husband's death to look like a suicide.

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.