The mother of a 21-year-old Tennessee woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit over her daughter's death. The victim was found dead while camping with a group of people at Center Hill Lake.
According to the lawsuit filed by the victim's mother, the woman was "killed through the intentional, negligent or reckless acts of the defendants."
The victim was at Wakefest from July 25 to 27 in 2015. Wakefest is a three-day wakeboarding contest held in Central Hill Lake in Smithville, Tennessee.
A private investigator was hired by the victim's mother to investigate the death of her daughter. According to an affidavit filed by the private investigator, the group of people camping with the woman on a plateau overlooking the lake included four others.
The purse, cellphone and shoes of the victim were found next to her hammock after she was last seen on the morning of July 26.
In a prior interview with Fox17, one of the campers said that she did not call the police because she heard the victim might have slept on a houseboat at the marina bar. Despite what the camper told Fox17, the affidavit from the private investigator claims that the group actually did talk to police.
They reportedly told the police that they woke up the morning of July 26 and could not find their friend. They did not file an actual missing person's report.
Around 4 p.m. that day, two fishermen found the body of the victim floating face down in the water near the campsites. Her body was found with multiple blunt force trauma blows to the head. Within minutes of the victim's body being found, the group of friends arrived at the scene asking if it was their friend.
The death was ruled an accident by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, which the affidavit disputes due to the fact that no water was found in her lungs. The affidavit claims the marks on the victim's body indicate a struggle prior to her death.
The death of a loved one is traumatizing. It is magnified when wrongful death comes into play. An experienced legal representative can help explain legal rights in such situations.
Source: Fox17 News Nashville, "Wrongful death lawsuit filed in case of Lauren Agee," KAYLIN SEARLES, Dec. 02, 2016