Nearly two years after their daughter's disappearance and subsequent death, the parents of Mitrice Richardson have reached a tentative agreement to settle their lawsuits against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for $900,000, sources tell the Los Angeles Times.
Richardson's parents and many others have criticized the sheriff's department for its handling of the case. Richardson (pictured), a lesbian who was 24 at the time, went missing in September 2009 after being released by the sheriff's Malibu station in the middle of the night without her car, cell phone, or purse. She had been taken to the station after being unable to pay her bill at a Malibu restaurant and was found to be in possession of a small quantity of marijuana.
Some remains were found almost a year later in a remote Malibu Canyon ravine. An official from the coroner's office says police removed the bones without his approval, with the police reasoning that wild animals could have taken them if they had not done so, but the action may have been unlawful and possibly undermined the investigation, according to the Times. In June, while memorializing her daughter at the site, Richardson's mother found a finger bone, which led to the discovery of eight more bones in the area.
If the settlement is approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the money will be split between her parents, Latice Sutton and Michael Richardson. Still, Michael Richardson told the Times, "In my eyes, as the father, I didn't receive justice. My daughter's killer is still out there."
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