This family is the only ones that knew everything that was going on and they chose to do nothing to help Shaun or Jenni. All it would have taken is one phone call to Shauns family or for them to not allow Jenni to remain at the household with the gun still there. Then they allowed her to remain there even after they knew Shaun had been released and the gun was still in the household. How can people sue someone else when they chose to not take ANY action themselves? If it was my daughter, I would have been in Edgerton and not allowed her to remain there. If she wanted to leave so bad, why was she there? Why didn't she take care of the dogs and leave? Bills need to be changed not the pockets lined of people who chose to do NOTHING for their own child.

A sad incident, but the lawsuit represents a shameful attempt by this family to blame everyone but themselves (and capitalize in the process) while taking no personal responsibility for their own errors in judgment and inaction. Look within.

Government cannot protect one from every harm in life, and sadly sometimes bad things happen to good people. Blame the Creator if you like--I'm sure S/He/It's heard it all before. Perhaps the citizens should counter-sue this family on account of their own errors in this incident!

And please, don't complain about people

The copper's should have taken the gun, since it was mentioned as a tool of the threat. But they hauled him to the Health Care Center and left it in the hands of the so-called professionals. Those professionals failed to protect the person or others. The coppers have a signature shifting most of the liability.

I can tell you the story of a guy who was a .33 breath/alcohol taken to detox. He was released and beat the copper back to town.

It's sad two people had to die here. But more may die if professionals aren't put in place at the County Mental Heath/Detox Center.It is their job to evaluate suicidal people completely before releasing them.

Have ya taken a intoxicated suicidal person to the Health Care/Detox Center ? They make you check them under the intoxication, not the suicidal part. They need to switch that around. The person who says they are going to hurt themselves is more dangerous than the person who is intoxicated.

By letting the husband out on Monday may have made a huge difference. He may have calmed down enough to be rational. Maybe not, but no one will ever know. Our justice system is messed up and he should have been held until Monday. He threatened her and that should be enough.

As for the family, everyone is talking about how greedy they are and just want the money. That is pure speculation. Maybe they just want to bring awareness to the situation so another family doesn't have to go through what they are going through. No amount of money will ever replace their daughter. I do hope they donate a huge chunck to domestic abuse awareness and intervention. Everyone is so negative about this. Walk a mile in the family's shoes before you go criticizing them!

And no, I do not know the family or anybody involved in this situation. I just have heard way too many stories lately about people who slip through the cracks. Such as the pediatrician who raped over 100 kids since 1998 and after many reports was finally just arrested.

Personal accountability. Period.

When I left, I planned & waited until the opportune time. I took the gun with me, only to have the police and courts tell me I had to give it back. Also, restraining order was out of the question because nothing physical had occurred yet. Threats may just be threats, but you never know.

Lesson learned for us all...never say never and don't "push" an unstable person. What determines unstable? Maybe calling someone 178 times in a day is a good sign. Stalking & controlling behaviors. If your gonna leave someone, DO IT! Don't drag it out and don't keep in touch to torment them after you leave. If your not in a position to leave, then learn to play the game to stay safe... until you can find help to break away.

markr- Truce, buddy. I'm not gonna unleash the spelling police...

reading---please don't unleash the spelling police

rodrigo--andrew said "locked up," etc., and I responded to him. You might want to try to read the entire conversation, and see if you get it. Try and keep up. I didn' say everything. I was part of the conversation. Some of the statements to which I refer appeared in others' posts. Reaing IS hard for you, isn't it?

more could alway be done or may have been learned from this! so maybe they may learn now only $2.9 million later. i hope for now on they will do a better job!

markr, I'm checking my reading skills, and you never said anything about people being arrested or held in jail in the posts that I replied to, you said that people aren't "locked up" as "a prevention of what may happen in the future" and that there are no laws that "prevent someone from breaking the law in the future". I said that on the contrary, when it comes to someone being a danger to themself or others, there are laws that are meant to be preventitive. Yes, you were referencing a post about drunk driving, but you still misstated your point. Thanks for the educational excercise though.

smfkma-well put. My sympathies to your family.

thevoiceofkids- Tragedies always have and always will happen, no matter how safe you are "kept", and that is NOT the fault of Rock County. Do you have any idea how many tragedies ARE avoided because of the people you are insulting? Believe me, you are "kept safe" by them. Show some respect.

Then why do we COPS and CPS? Cuz we cant take the law in our hands.

Loveisgood - I would love to "give it a rest" as you say...It is painful to see the articles and to look at the pictures of Shaun and Jenni. It has been awhile since I've thought about all this. Time as they say helps to easy the pain and nothing like another story to bring it all back again. We lost two family members that day. Regardless of what anyone wants to say about Shaun on this post, he was not a loser. I don't know what happened in the days that lead up to this, but I will always remember my nephew as the kind and gentle person that I knew him to be.

Rock Co. can't keep our kids safe? Shouldn't that be the parents job first and foremost?

andrew--boorish? OK. Read the first line of your post, and then compare it with the last. You have identified yourself as boorish. Now, you are completely WRONG in your premise. While arresting drunk drivers may have the EFFECT of keeping people from hurting people, the reason they are in jail IS NOT to keep them off the roads...it is because they WERE DRUNK ON THE ROADS.

one more good jod by Rock County, not! :( you guys need to get your act together or more of this will happen. you can't even keep our kids safe. many more law suites to come.

keep us safe!!!!

markr, that is pretty much a complete misunderstanding of what I SAID. The reason for the drunk driving laws are to punish people before they hurt someone, which when driving drunk, is more probable. Something that MIGHT happen. But people don't get hurt EVERY time someone drives drunk. Commenting on one's perceived lack of understanding is boarish behavior.

rodrigo--the 72 hour hold is also not an arrest. They are not held in jail as those arrested are. He is placed on just what you say, a mental health hold, not arrested for a CRIME, which was the context of the posting by andrew to which I was responding

rodrigo--check your reading skills. I was, and clearly said that I was, addressing a previous reference to drunk driving.

correction, he did meet the criteria, but the 51.15 was dropped as he was released to the custody of a family member. But there are laws in place that are completely preventative and not punishment based.

Markr, check your facts, there is a law under chapter 51 of the wisconsin state stautes, section 15 (commonly referred to as a 51.15 to mental health and law enforcment professionals), where a person who has been deemed a threat to himself or others can be held for 72 hours to prevent the suspected harm. He would have been held at Mendota or in crisis stabilization. This kid didn't meet the criteria, meaning he fell through the cracks. Nobody's fault, I might add, and definately not something Rock County should lose almost 3 million dollars over.

Ljs64: I disagree. IMO-and that's all it is-if Mrs. Vorderman had been honoring her vows instead of throwing more kindling onto the fire that was her husband, this entire situation would never have became engulfed! IMO!

PS. andrew. I mean, ALL laws are written with a preventative aspect and intent, but punishment does not occur until the law has been broken...it does not occur to keep people from breaking the law in the first place, which seems to be the issue here.

andrewj--that is pretty much a complete lack of understanding of the law. Sorry, but people are not locked up because of what they might do, in the case of drunk driving--your example. They are only locked up AFTER they have driven drunk...not beforehand, in anticipation that they might. And then, when they are locked up, it is because of what they HAVE DONE (drive drunk). It is punsihment for what has occurred, not a prevention of may occur in the future.

This is exactly the reason our society is in the shape it is today. Place the blame on others for the actions of one.
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The ONLY one responsible for this tragedy is Shaun Vordermann. PERIOD !!!

Patrician1: well, have you forgot that Shaun also died that day/night?? Following the logic of this lawsuit, his family should be able to also file a lawsuit because if they hadn't released him after a 9 minute eval, he may not have went back home, took out the garbage, rented a pay-per-view movie, shot Jenni and then shot himself. Right??! If you subscribe to this ridiculous theory on one side, you HAVE to subscribe to it on the other side!

IMO, this mother sounds a little goofy. In the original article and then in the spread back in November, it said she would stay out with Jenni and her "male friend" until the wee hours of the morning. Like I said, she should be named as a defendant in her own lawsuit!

Unfortunately, the system cannot cover all scenarios. The crisis-intervention as well as the police response can always be scrutinized in hind sight. I am agreeing that there could have been something done better and this story is tragic. Just understand how many times these officers and intervention employees go through this. I believe they all felt things were being done properly and by the book. They wouldn't have let him out otherwise. Sadly, I don't believe all 'crimes of passion' are avoidable.
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Don't forget also that these officials have a limited scope of authority and are also scrutinized to make sure they are not going beyond it. Sort of a damned if you do-damned if you don't.

Funny that the family couldn't find a counselor when all these obvious "warning signs" were occurring all along. Also interesting that the family couldn't find a lawyer to consult for a restraining order or divorce in all the time leading up to this. Guess there wasn't much money in that.

wHaTeVer, People are locked up every day for what they MIGHT do. The act of drunk driving is a crime because of what MIGHT happen. If there was a way to measure it and prove it, I would believe a larger percentage of drunk drivers get home without causing any harm. The bars are NOT empty.

Also, curious to know if this attorney for the plaintiff is doing this pro bono or at a discounted rate. Probably not. He or she will take his/her third. $1 million isn't too shabby.

I think that the plaintiff/counsel for the plaintiff supplied these photos to the Gazette to curry sympathy. Window dressing. What bothers me about the way this article is written is clearly the writer just summarized the Complaint, without taking the time to put it in context. It makes it look like fact when it is what the plaintiff is *alleging*. Two sides to every story. Clearly a tragedy, but as others have pointed out, is this the proper recourse?

The Joker:I agree with you 100% Way too much greed.Who pay's?(Us taxpayers)..

As everyone else has stated, if they wanted to prevent this from happening to other families, they would be lobbying for change of policy and laws, not seeking personal gain. This was a horrible tragedy. Her family should be trying to assure that other abusers with mental health issues are not released- not trying to line their pockets with money. Their motives are brought into question by their choice in lawsuits, and, their seeking monetary gain for the death of a child...

AMEN LOVEISGOOD

Very very poor taste AGAIN on the Gazette's part. It is obvious they do not care for the 5th time how these families feel. I quit purchasing the gazette just for this reason.
NO RESPECT FOR YOU PEOPLE ANYMORE!!

I can't imagine the pain it must cause to see the picture attached to this article .

That in it self would absolutely crush me if it were my daughter who had been murdered by her husband !

To both families . Let it rest !

whatever - Perfectly said.

MyAngel23 - Absolutely.

biggirl - How in the world do you propose that everyone that ever made a threat to someone just in Rock County to be monitored to prevent a possible follow-thru?? That would require a sort of military-style government and absolute monitoring of everyone's movement.

Duh! That's just what I would want.

The govt. and govt. officials can't have it both ways. They either are here to protect us and to prevent violence, nor not. If for the former, as they claim, then we need to hold them accountable. I'm actually for a SMALL govt. without all these social services, police, etc., but that's not what we have.

It's too bad anyone had to die here, and I don't believe the police did everything they could. It's rare that they ever do everything they can in domestic violence cases (first hand knowledge). That's all I'm saying.

Joker I agree!!

Joker -- how about could have, would have, should have.

It's all about GREED!

Whatever - thank you.

Pataricin-Could of, would of, should of! Spare me. His release on Monday makes no difference. He would of killed her anyway. No money should be awarded to her family. If anything, more awareness about mental illness and spousal abuse is needed.

I agree. Sad for both families and everyone involved.

The whole situation is just sad....

People can NOT be locked up for something they might do. sorry, typo(s)!!!

Most of you have no idea what you are talking about. There are many FACTS about this that many do not know about but they will all come out in court. If you read the article dated November 2, 2008 you might know more of the families involvement, or un-involvement. Her family knew he was home with her and did NOTHING except to tell her to call them for a ride to work the next day. Why didn't her mother go and get her that very second and make her stay at her mother's home???? Why did the victim leave the gun on their property instead of getting it to a 3rd party or throwing it in the river??? She had that chance to do so and did not. There is plenty of blame to go around. Blaming the police department and Rock County is a joke. They did their jobs as far as the law would allow. People can be locked up for something they "might" do, otherwise there would be a hell of a lot of people in jail and mental institutions this very minute. It's called Civil Rights. So why don't you all who think you know everything keep it to yourself and wait and see what the FACTS are that are presented in a court of law??? Rock County and area police departments are not responsible for peoples actions, the person should be held accountable for their own actions. Big Brother can't watch everyone all the time.

joker- you know this because you were there? You don't think this young woman should have been notified when her abuser was released? The police assured her he would NOT be released until Monday morning. If they would have notified her she could have left the area and might still be alive today.

Of course the family of the husband isn't filing a lawsuit. Their son killed his wife. What could they even sue for?

I would hope that when the womans family does win their non-frivolous lawsuit that they would use it for the battered women shelters in Rock County and not on themselves.

The Family should file a lawsuit against themselves...they had more insight about this loser then law enforcement anyway. Please tell us all how much the pain goes away while you are rolling around in your money.

Mikki, my point exactly. There is nothing more the police or county could of done.

Bottom line, if someone is going to commit a crime, they will. I have known people to con their way through a psych evaluation. It's how they answer the questions.
You have to hold accountable the person who committed the crime, not every person the criminal came in contact with that day. Why not sue the clerk at McDonald's....they sold him a beverage that may have caffiene in it, that could have helped fuel his fire!
Just nuts.

I agree that maybe the county should share some blame and have to pay for it. But I can't grasp the concept of the family benefitting from the death of the woman. What are they gonna do, go to the bahamas on vacation with the money? Put an addition onto their house? Pay off their credit card bills? If they get something I think it would be better if they donated it to a woman's shelter or another charity. I had a friend who got some money when his son was killed in a car accident and he put up a big 3 car garage with the money. Just seems kind of sick. Kind of like the Burr Oak cemetary in the Chicago area. All those bodies dug up and dumped and the families I'm sure will get a pretty good payout from it. The cemetary needs to suffer and pay something but I can't imagine sitting in my back yard and saying "It's a good thing Grandpa was dug up or I never would have gotten this nice pool."

This lawsuit is a joke. Terrible and tragicestory and I feel for the girl's family. But the police and Rock County did everything they could. We are not a nanny state and we cannot control everyone 24 hours a day. If someone wants to do something, like kill somebody, they will find a way to do it.

This reminds me of people who complain and ask when someone who has a revoked or suspended drivers license is caught after a deadly accident, "Why was this person driving?" Why did the courts or police allow this?!"

News Flash! People are going to do what ever they want to do. We do not have enough resources to monitor every person charged with assualt, domestic battery or drunk driving. Even if she had a restraining order, he still would of come over and killed her and himself. Obviously, he had no regard for the law or any respect for her. Also, whether he would be released that same day of his arrest or the day of the restraining order hearing does not matter. He was going to do what he thought he had to do, no matter what day it was.

Yes, this guy was a ticking time bomb loser of a husband and man. But where were the parents of both of these 2 young people? Why did this girl keep on staying with this mentally ill person?

This is a sad story, the loss of 2 young people and an example for other married couples to get out if abuse or stalking occurs. This story is not grounds for a lawsuit. What good or benefit will result? No amount of money will ever bring back this family's daughter.