GUNMAN TO PAY FAMILY IN DEARBORN HEIGHTS PORCH SHOOTING

Original Story: freep.com

A civil settlement was reached Friday in the shooting death of Renisha McBride in Dearborn Heights, a case that generated national attention as a racially-charged killing. A Grand Rapids wrongful death attorney is following this story closely.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Daniel Hathaway approved the settlement, which arose from a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of McBride, a 19-year-old African-American woman shot by Theodore Wafer, a 55-year-old white man, on his porch on Nov. 2, 2013. Wafer was convicted of second-degree murder in her shooting and is currently serving a sentence of least 17 years.

The amount of the settlement between the attorneys for McBride and Wafer was kept confidential, said the McBride family's attorney, Gerald Thurswell. Thurswell represented McBride's mother, Monica McBride, and her father, Walter Ray Simmons, who appeared in court Friday. A San Francisco wrongful death lawyer represents clients in wrongful death cases and negligent accident claims.

Because of the confidentiality agreement, Thurswell wouldn't say how much Wafer has to pay the parents of McBride.

"The bottom line is that...no amount of money can ever compensate the family for the loss that they suffered each and every day, each and every minute," Thurswell said. "They lost their daughter. The sister lost a sister." A Detroit wrongful death attorney is reviewing the details of this case.

Under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, McBride got into a car accident a few hours before she was killed at about 4:30 a.m. She knocked on the door of Wafer's home, apparently seeking help. Wafer thought she was a potential intruder, and said he fired to protect himself.

Her death generated widespread attention, with some comparing it to the case of Trayvon Martin, an African-American teen shot dead in Florida in 2012. Activists said McBride was a victim of racial profiling that stereotypes African Americans and held protests calling for charges to be brought against the shooter. An Indiana wrongful death lawyer represents families who have lost a loved one due to the negligence of another party.