NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The jury in Abby Zwerner’s $40 million Richneck shooting lawsuit against former Assistant Principal Ebony Parker is expected deliver its verdict Thursday.
Watch live: Full coverage as verdict expected today
Off air: Web stream (only live while streaming press conferences, etc)
Seven jurors entered deliberation Wednesday just before 4 p.m. but will not render their verdict by the end of the day. They were selected to determine the fate of Abby Zwerner’s $40 million lawsuit against Ebony Parker, the former Assistant Principal at Richneck Elementary, for alleged gross negligence the day Zwerner was shot by a 6-year-old student.
Richneck Shooting
Catch up on everything we’ve learned in Zwerner’s $40M Richneck shooting lawsuit
Closing arguments
Abby Zwerner’s team delivers hour-long closing arguments in Richneck lawsuit
In beginning closing arguments Wednesday just before noon, Zwerner’s attorney Kevin Biniazan spoke for nearly an hour about the impact the shooting has had on her — and the impact it will continue to have for the rest of her life.
Biniazan’s key point in closing was that the credible report of a gun with at student — even the unlikely scenario of a 6-year-old student — requires action by the administration. Any delay would increase the potential danger to those around that student.
He rejected one of the defense’s main arguments that Zwerner and others had accountability to further act when the report of the gun was made, and that it was not Parker’s responsibility to ensure the safety of students and staff.
Parker’s defense delivers closing arguments
Parker’s defense attorney Sandra Douglas spoke for about 40 minutes in closing. She acknowledge that Zwerner’s shooting was a tragedy that should have never happened, but told the jury that their burden is to determine “gross negligence,” which has a high bar to prove.
Douglas said she does not enjoy having to argue against the victim of a shooting, but that it is her duty as an officer of the court to pursue the truth — and that truth, she said, is there is a “different side to that story.”
That different side, Douglas argued, is that Zwerner has not suffered as much as she has portrayed.
Court TV’s cameras cut frequently to Zwerner during the Douglas’ closing, where she appeared to get emotional. Another of her attorneys, Diane Toscano, held her hand and comforted her as Douglas attempted to dismantle her team’s case.
In Biniazan’s rebuttal, he talked about Zwerner’s reduced life expectancy from the shooting: 53 years, he said.
“When you’re deciding what’s fair and what’s fair, you’re not just deciding tomorrow and what might happen the next day,” Biniazan told the jury. “We don’t get to come back here in five, ten, 15 years and bring you all together and ask Mr. Warner, how are you doing? Are you still waking up at nine? Do you still see that face?”
If Zwerner’s suit is successful in awarding her all or some of the $40 million, Newport News Schools’ insurance authority would be liable to pay out the money.
Instructions were delivered to the jury just before noon Wednesday. You may view the full instructions here:
But Ebony Parker’s time in court will not end when the lawsuit does. Parker also faces eight counts of felony child neglect, where prosecutors allege she failed to act to prevent the student from shooting Zwerner, which they say also put students in the classroom in danger. The eight counts refer to the eight bullets that were allegedly in the gun at the time of the shooting.
While there is no specific date set for that trial, it is expected to commence shortly after the civil suit concludes.
Watch previous coverage: Zwerner says she thought she was dead as she testifies, faces cross examination
‘I thought I had died:’ Abby Zwerner testifies & faces cross examination on Day 4 of Richneck shooting trial
