The suburban Detroit man who shot and killed an unarmed 19-year-old woman on his porch is being sued by her parents for more than $10 million, the lawyer representing the family told NBC News. The civil lawsuit against Theodore Wafer was filed Tuesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, nearly two weeks after a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Renisha McBride. It accuses him of wrongful death and negligence.
Wafer, 55, shot McBride on Nov. 2 after she knocked on his door following a car crash. The ensuing trial drew comparisons to the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case because Wafer is white and McBride was black, but the subject of race was rarely mentioned in the courtroom. Wafer is due to be sentenced Sept. 3.
The family attorney, Gerald E. Thurswell, told NBC News late Tuesday that seeking justice in civil court was important to McBride's parents. "They go to dinner every night, and there's an empty seat at the table. They go to church on Sunday, and there's an empty seat next to them," he said. "They've lost their daughter. They've lost a girl who had her whole life ahead of her."