Local family suing California homeowner for wrongful death of son
The parents of a 32-year-old Butler High School graduate whose remains were found in Long Beach in 2018 are suing a California man, according to a recent filing.
Zachary Kennedy went missing in October 2017 and in May 2018 Long Beach police obtained a search warrant for a house where Kennedy was reportedly last seen. They excavated the yard and found human remains.
The coroner's office called the man's family to report that a fingerprint had been used to confirm his their son's identity, according to previous reports.
Now, that family is suing the homeowner, Scott Lee, claiming Long Beach man failed to call 911 when Kennedy overdosed. No arrests have been made and the action is a civil action.
In the lawsuit, Kennedy's parents Jeff Kennedy and Kathleen Minto-larrapino allege their son went to Lee's home on Oct. 22, 2017. There he was supplied with a drug called GHB, commonly known as a date rape drug, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The drug, the family contends in their lawsuit, led to Kennedy overdosing.
“As (Kennedy) was fighting for his life in (Lee's) bathtub, Lee text(ed) a photo of (Kennedy) to his friend, yet failed to call 911 or attempt to render any assistance, resulting in Zachary Kennedy's death,” the lawsuit states.
In a May 2018 story, Kennedy's father, Jeffrey Kennedy, described him as charming and quick to make friends. The Butler Township man said had not seen his son in 10 years but kept in touch via phone conversations,
“Zach was the type of person who was very well liked,” he said.
Kennedy's father told the Eagle during that interview his son had struggled with drug use and was HIV positive.
This is a breaking report — to read a full article about the lawsuit pick up Sunday's Butler Eagle or subscribe online.
