Va. mass slaying victim’s parents win $5m suit

APPOMATTOX, Va. (AP) — The parents of a teenager killed in a mass slaying in Virginia have been awarded $5 million in a lawsuit against the man convicted of the deaths.

Defense lawyer Charles Covati tells The News & Advance (http://bit.ly/1s9cTm3 ) it’s unlikely the parents will receive much money. Covati says his client, 44-year-old Christopher Bryan Speight (spayt), is imprisoned for life and has nothing.

Speight is serving five life sentences after pleading guilty in 2013 to three capital murder counts and other charges. The charges stem from the fatal shootings of eight people at a home in Appomattox County in 2010.

Sixteen-year-old Ronald Irvy Scruggs was among the victims. Scruggs’ mother Kimberly Scruggs, filed the lawsuit in Appomattox County Circuit Court.

The lawsuit was settled Wednesday. Covati says Speight agreed to the terms.

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Information from: The News & Advance, http://www.newsadvance.com/

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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