Link to law suit; plus grabbed a little bit of the text
Case 1:15-cv-00255-MJW Document 1 Filed 02/05/15 USDC Colorado
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 15-cv-255
LAURA SAXTON and
DOUG SCHELLING, as the surviving parent of Kelsie Schelling, decedent.
DONTHE LUCAS,
DAWN SHAY LUCAS,
DETECTIVE NEAL ROBINSON, in his individual capacity,
SERGEANT KEN ESPINOZA, in his individual capacity,
DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF ANDREW McLACHLAN, in his individual capacity, and
CITY OF PUEBLO, COLORADO,
COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND JURY DEMAND
Plaintiffs, above-named, by and through its counsel, Lonn M. Heymann of Lonn
Heymann Law Firm, P.C., for their Complaint for Damages and Jury Demand hereby
allege as follows:
INTRODUCTION
1. This is a civil rights action for damages resulting from the deprivation of
civil rights under color of law. Kelsie Schellings parents, Laura Saxton and Doug
Schelling (herein referred to collectively as Plaintiffs), seek damages, declaratory, and
injunctive relief to remedy the deprivation of their right of access to courts by the City of
Pueblo, Colorado, Detective Neal Robinson, Sergeant Ken Espinoza, and Deputy Police
Chief Andrew McLachlan (herein referred to collectively as Pueblo Police Department
Defendants). Plaintiffs also state a claim for wrongful death against Donthe Lucas, Sara
Lucas, Vivian Lucas, and Dawn Shay Lucas (herein referred to collectively as Lucas
2. Plaintiffs seek relief for the Pueblo Police Department Defendants
deliberate interference with their right to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Colorado
District Court, pursuant to Colorado Wrongful Death Act, C.R.S. § 13-21-201, et seq., by
refusing to open and investigate a criminal case arising from the death and disappearance
of Kelsie Schelling on or about February 5, 2013, in Pueblo, Colorado, by tampering with
or destroying evidence material to any wrongful death claim, by deliberately disregarding
compelling leads and evidence pointing to the homicide of Kelsie Schelling by Donthe
Lucas, with whom Kelsie Schelling had driven from Denver to Pueblo to discuss her
pregnancy with his child.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
9. Kelsie Schelling (herein Kelsie) was feloniously killed on or about
February 5, 2013 by Donthe Lucas. The Lucas Defendants conspired with or acted as an
Case 1:15-cv-00255-MJW Document 1 Filed 02/05/15 USDC Colorado Page 4 of 21
10. Kelsies disappearance occurred after she was coaxed into traveling to
Pueblo Colorado on February 4, 2013 by Donthe Lucas (Father of Kelsies child) and his
mother Sara Lucas. Kelsie attended medical appointment in Denver during the morning
hours of February 4 and confirmed that she was two months pregnant with Donthe
Lucass child. Communications between Kelsie, Donthe and Sara Lucas via text
messages and phones calls indicates that Donthe and Sara sent a plethora of messages
trying to convince Kelsie to travel to Pueblo before attending her Doctors appointment.
Kelsie however elected to wait and attended the medical appointment and confirmed she
was in fact pregnant before traveling to meet with Donthe and his mother. After the
Doctors appointment Kelsie returned to work and finished the work-day before traveling
11. At 11:20p.m. on the evening of February 4, 2013, Kelsie arrived at the
Wal-Mart at 4080 West Northern, Pueblo, Colorado to meet Donthe as directed by him.
Donthe was not at Wal-Mart and kept stalling for time through text messages before
directing her to another unknown location. At 12:32 a.m., in the early morning hours of
February 5, 2013 Kelsie sent Donthe a text message wanting to know where he was at,
complaining that she had been waiting for over an hour for him. That was the last
confirmed message that will indicate that Kelsie was alive. At 3:54 a.m. Donthe calls
Kelsie's cell phone. According to cellular tower pings and triangulation, Donthe and
Kelsies cell phones where in a very close proximity of each other and concluded that
Donthe had no reason to call the Kelsies phone. The theory is that Kelsie had been
murdered before this call was made and that the call was made to Kelsies phone to locate
12. Throughout the rest of the night various text messages were
communicated between Kelsies cell phone and Donthes cell phone. An analysis of text
verbiage from Kelsies phone after the 3:54A.M. time period, would indicate that the
messages where not being typed by Kelsie and the wording, spelling and type of verbiage
used was not close to the traditional verbiage used in previous messages. The content of
the messages made no sense and were out of context.
13. At 11:39 a.m., on February 5, 2013, Donthe Lucas travels to Canon
National Bank in Pueblo, driving Kelsies 2011 Black Chevrolet Cruze and withdraws
$400.00 cash from the ATM with Kelsies ATM card. Surveillance video clearly shows
that that Donthe Lucas is driving the car and that Kelsie is not present.
14. Donthe Lucas is then observed by surveillance video parking Kelsies car
at the Wal-Mart parking lot, located at 4080 West Northern Avenue in Pueblo. Donthe
exits the car and walks to the rear of the store where he was picked up by his mother,
Sara Lucas, and grandmother, Vivian Lucas. For the next 18 hours, Kelsies car sits in the
same parked position. No one else exits the car or enters the car until February 6, 2013 at
7:20 a.m. when an African-American male walks directly to the car from the same
walking path that Donthe Lucas takes to leave the car from the rear of the store. That
male was accompanied in another vehicle by Dawn Shay Lucas who acted as a lookout.
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15. Immediately following the evident criminal conduct toward Kelsie
Schelling, her family, Plaintiffs, filed a missing persons report and sought the assistance
of law enforcement, including the Pueblo Police Department, and the media.
16. As of February 5, 2015, there is no record listed within the Pueblo Police
Departments online records data-base that Kelsie Schellings disappearance has ever been
logged as an open investigation assigned with a Pueblo Police Department case number.
There has never been a Pueblo Police Department Case File Number identified to
Kelsies family or to the Investigators that the family has privately hired.
17. The Pueblo Police failed to retrieve evidence from the Denver Police
Department to be submitted to the Colorado Crime Laboratory to obtain DNA
classification required to be submitted into a National data-base. Over a year later, these
items were not processed for DNA.
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