In Chesapeake Virginia, a man has filed a lawsuit to prevent his half-brother to be able to collect on their deceased mother’s life insurance. Ryan Martinez and his girlfriend Airika Liljegren were both convicted in 2013 of killing Martinez’s mother and her boyfriend. Christopher Ellett is now attempting to prevent his half-brother from being able to claim $75,220 in life-insurance proceeds under his States slayer statute. The lawsuit is also seeking both compensatory as well as punitive damages. Martinez tried to make a claim for the insurance proceeds two months after he was arrested. Mr. Ellett alleges that Martinez had a financial motive for killing his mother. This case brings attention to the issue of undue influence; it is common for States to have Slayer Statutes that seek to prevent evil heirs from being able to profit from their crimes.
See Margaret Matray, Suit aims to make sure Chesapeake man involved in mother’s death won’t benefit from insurance, The Virginian-Pilot, July 31, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
