The father of a man charged in a double homicide is suing Boone County Sheriff Mike Moore for not arresting his son sooner.
Albert Froehlich of Lead Hill believes Moore was derelict in his job duties because he didn't arrest Glen Froehlich after a Sept. 19, 2015, incident in which Glen Froehlich threatened to kill his mother and fired a rifle into the ground, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Boone County Circuit Court.
Moore said at the time that deputies were sent to arrest Glen Froehlich, "but he ran off into the woods."
Moore didn't return voice mail messages left at his office and on his cellphone Friday afternoon.
The bodies of Helen Froehlich, 61, and Frank Simpson, 60, were found Oct. 3, 2015, after a group of women organizing a bake sale called the Boone County sheriff's office saying they hadn't been able to reach Helen Froehlich since Oct. 1.
Glen Froehlich was arrested after a five-hour standoff in which no shots were fired.
Helen Froehlich was shot while she was in bed watching television, according to an affidavit from Sgt. Jason Brisco with the sheriff's office. Simpson, who lived in an apartment in the Froehlichs' barn, was shot while sitting behind a desk at a computer.
Twelve spent shell casings from a Chinese SKS 7.62x39mm rifle were found at the scene of the shootings, according to the court filing.
Two dogs at the foot of Helen Froehlich's bed also had been shot. In addition to two counts of capital murder, Glen Froehlich was charged with cruelty to animals, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a habitual offender.
In January 2017, Glen Froehlich was found mentally unfit to stand trial, but his status apparently changed by July.
Dr. Benjamin Silber on behalf of the State Hospital reported July 17 that Glen Froehlich "is now fit to proceed," according to a court filing.
Circuit Judge John Putman ordered a jury trial for Glen Froehlich in August, but it has been postponed several times. Glen Froehlich's trial is now scheduled for May 14.
Robert Ginnaven, a Harrison lawyer, filed the lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Albert Froehlich, individually and as administrator of Helen Froehlich's estate.
Moore knew of Glen Froehlich's "hostile and violent tendencies" toward Helen Froehlich since at least Aug. 12, 2009, Ginnaven wrote.
On that day, Helen Froehlich called the sheriff's office to report that she had locked herself in her car because Glen Froehlich "was on some kind of high and had gotten physical with her," according to the lawsuit, which was quoting a dispatch call report from the sheriff's office.
Deputies found Glen Froehlich striking the passenger window of the vehicle and arrested him for public intoxication and assault on a family member, according to the lawsuit.
On Feb. 7, 2012, Albert Froehlich, a truck driver, called the sheriff's office and asked if a deputy would go to his house and remove his son, who was "was yelling and making noise in the barn" to the point that Helen Froehlich couldn't get any sleep.
Then on Sept. 19, 2015, Deputy John Langert responded to a call at the home of Albert and Helen Froehlich. Albert Froehlich told Langert that his son had been sleeping in a house under construction on the property, according to Brisco's affidavit.
"Albert said his wife Helen had asked Glen to leave the property due to his mental state," according to the affidavit. "Albert said Glen had been acting like a crazy person and when he was asked to leave, Glen grabbed a loaded .30-06 rifle and started yelling and screaming with the rifle in his hands. Albert said Glen then fired one round at the ground and went back inside the residence. Albert said Glen had made a threat and told Albert, 'I am going to get the b***h."
In a section of Ginnaven's lawsuit about the incident, the word "get" was replaced with "kill" in the quote from Glen Froehlich.
Glen Froehlich wasn't located while Langert was on the scene, but an affidavit was filed for his arrest in that case.
In the lawsuit, Ginnaven wrote that his client is entitled to compensatory and punitive damages. Ginnaven is demanding a jury trial.
"Defendant had actual knowledge of the danger that Glen Froehlich posed to his mother and that Glen Froehlich had threatened to kill his mother," Ginnaven wrote.
Despite that knowledge, Moore failed to follow state law regarding investigations of domestic violence and failed to arrest Glen Froehlich after the Sept. 19, 2015, shooting incident, Ginnaven wrote.
Metro on 03/10/2018