Monday, June 20, 2011

Springfield, MO: Comstock wrongful-death lawsuit heads to court

Although criminal charges have failed to materialize in the case of a local attorney and book collector's death, a civil wrongful death case is set to go forward next week.

Faith Stocker has sued her mother, Alberta Comstock, claiming she pulled the trigger in the death of Rolland Comstock -- Stocker's stepfather and Alberta Comstock's former husband.

The wrongful death lawsuit is scheduled to begin with a jury trial June 27. On Friday, a hearing is set to iron out the final details before jury selection on the trial's first day.

Rolland Comstock was discovered lying face-up on his dining room floor by his longtime paralegal and friend on July 3, 2007.

He had been shot four times -- twice in the back of the head, once in the face and once in the abdomen.

The criminal case remains an open investigation, despite the fact that it went before a county grand jury earlier this year and failed to result in any criminal charges.

Alberta Comstock was thrust into the spotlight after a search warrant named her and son Michael in a request for DNA samples.

In paperwork asking for the warrant, the sheriff's office described confidential legal and medical paperwork addressed to Alberta Comstock in a black attaché case found in Rolland Comstock's home.

Michael Comstock's DNA had been considered a preliminary match with DNA on a cigarette butt also found in the home.

Both had reportedly told police they hadn't been in the home for months before the incident, and Alberta allegedly had bought a gun the day before her ex-husband's death.

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