Bobbi Kristina Brown: Nick Gordon Loses Wrongful Death Lawsuit, A Look At The Evidence
On Friday, an Atlanta judge found Nick Gordon legally responsible for the death of his former girlfriend, Bobbi Kristina Brown, when he failed to show up to court.
CNN reports that Gordon failed to show up on the second day of his wrongful death civil hearing in Fulton County, which automatically made him lose the lawsuit by default. Although it’s still unclear why he decided to skip the hearing, it could possibly be due to the overwhelming evidence against him.
Nick Gordon found civilly liable in the death of his girlfriend Bobbi Kristina Brown. https://t.co/ozCPwGwmdh pic.twitter.com/sSYWp4RJQz
— ABC News (@ABC) September 16, 2016
In 2015, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Bobbi Kristina died from pneumonia and brain damage, but couldn’t conclusively determine if the death was intentional or accidental. However, a number of drugs were found in her system, including marijuana, a cocaine byproduct, morphine, alcohol, and anxiety medications. Although morphine is a byproduct of heroin, the medical examiner’s office couldn’t determine if Bobbi Kristina indeed used it as a form of heroin.
A number of witnesses previously indicated that Gordon regularly participated in drug use with Bobbi Kristina. A few people also said he routinely hit Bobbi Kristina while under the influence, even pulling her up a flight of stairs by her hair. Another witness said it was Gordon who gave Bobbi Kristina the legal dose of cocktails found in her system via the medical examiner’s report.
Fulton County court documents indicate that a guest at Bobbi Kristina’s townhouse said that on the night before the 22-year-old died, Gordon called her a string of insulting names before slapping her in the face and dragging her upstairs to the master bedroom. According to the amended documents,
“Bobbi Kristina Brown suffered substantial physical bodily harm, including the loss of teeth, pain and suffering, bruising, swollen lips, and trauma that required medical treatment as a direct consequence of Defendant’s physical abuse.”
The documents also state that while Bobbi Kristina was in the hospital fighting for her life, Gordon made an unauthorized transaction when he transferred $10,000 from her bank account into his own personal account. He also took her ring and placed it on his necklace, which he publicly displayed on a number of occasions.
Gordon doled out severe emotional abuse to Bobbi Kristina by deciding who she could and couldn’t visit, answering her personal calls, and installing cameras throughout her townhouse so he could see and hear everything she did. In 2014, he announced on social media that he had married Bobbi Kristina, although it wasn’t true. Court records note that he made the lie up in order to further control his girlfriend.
Bobby Brown’s sister, Leolah Brown, was at the court hearing on Friday. Although Gordon was found responsible, at least in the civil case against, Leolah remains angry that no criminal charges were filed against him. She was also upset that the civil case took so long.
“It’s been a long time. They should have been gotten him. He should have been arrested. I’m angry. I’m angry because I want to see some justice. Something has to happen and it has to happen soon….He’s [Gordon] ignorant, he’s arrogant. He thinks he’s above the law.”
Bedelia Hargrove, Bobbi Kristina’s conservator, amended the lawsuit after watching Gordon on a recent episode of the Dr. Phil show, where he openly chatted about the details surrounding the death. He was ordered not to discuss anything until after the civil lawsuit ended, but apparently Gordon had other plans when he gave the interview. Per court documents,
“The defendant ignores this Court’s mandates but freely discusses his role in the incident which led to the horrific injuries to decedent Bobbi Kristina.”
#BREAKING – Attorney for estate of #BobbyKristinaBrown says Nick Gordon will pay for ignoring court. #11Alive pic.twitter.com/AbvyLi6EDH
— Mike ?? (@blkclarkkent) September 16, 2016
Hargrove’s attorney, R. David Ware, stated that the next step is to let the jury determine the damages Gordon will be responsible for. The attorney plans to go after Gordon with “fervor.”
“In court today, we finally finished a long journey for justice for Bobbi Kristina Brown. The court agreed with us, by striking Mr. Gordon’s answer that he is legally responsible for her death. The only thing left for us to prove is the value of her life. We intend to do that.”
No criminals charges have yet been filed against Gordon. He declined to comment on the judge’s decision.
[Feature Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]
