The Arizona Daily Star

Published: 02.05.2007

Family seeks $20 million after gruesome crash photos released
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — The family of an Orange County teen who died in an October car crash has filed a $20 million financial claim against the state, alleging it suffered emotional distress after graphic photos of the accident taken by investigators appeared on the Internet.
The claim filed by the family of 18-year-old Nikki Catsouras alleges that a California Highway Patrol investigator e-mailed crash scene photographs to a dispatcher, who then e-mailed them to the "general public." The photos have appeared on hundreds of Web sites.
The claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, was filed Dec. 28 with the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board. It seeks $20 million for emotional distress and punitive damages.
CHP spokesman Tom Marshall said his agency was investigating whether an officer actually took the photographs and how they came to appear online. CHP policy and the California Vehicle Code require that such evidence be released only to people involved in the accident or their authorized agents.
Shortly after the fatal crash in Lake Forest, relatives of the Ladera Ranch teen began receiving mysterious e-mails that included photos that showed her decapitated body.
Family members say they confronted the CHP and officers acknowledged that the photos had been improperly released to the public.
"There are just a lot of ugly people doing ugly things," said Lesli Catsouras, Nikki's mother.
CHP is working with the family to contact more than 800 Web sites posting the photographs, asking them to stop displaying the images, Marshall said.
Miles Bristow, a spokesman for the claims board, said the agency would probably consider the claim at a Feb. 22 meeting.

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