Mother Awarded $1 Million After Son Was Murdered, Fed to Pigs

Back in April 2006, a terrible crime took place in Salem, Oregon. Leonardo Garcia Gonzalez Jr., and his cousin executed Christopher Lampkin's, then -- using kitchen knives -- chopped off his head and legs then stuffed the remains into a duffel bag and asked the son of a farmer to feed them to the pigs. While some of the remains were fed to pigs, the farmer's son (Joseph Norman Schmidt) placed the bag inside an empty barrel, where it was found months later by detectives.

Leonardo, 26, told investigations he killed Christopher (pictured, above) because he feared he was going to rob him. He was charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison. His cousin, Victor Tovar Gonzalez, 25, pleaded guilty to assault, hindering prosecution, abuse of a corpse, unlawful use of a weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm; he's currently in prison and eligible for parole in 2022. Joseph was offered immunity in exchange for his cooperation.

Which brings us to a lawsuit filed by Christopher's mother. In 2008, Denise Mullins sued Joseph and his father, Joseph Francis Schmidt, because they "knew or should have known criminal activity such as mutilation of a corpse and drug use occurred on their property" and even though they were aware that Leornado and his cousin "were dangerous and posed a risk to visitors at the complex" failed to evict them. They sued for $15,000 in economic damages and $1.5 million in non-economic damages. A judge dismissed the case against the property owners. Earlier this month, the judge ordered Leonardo, Victor and Joseph to each pay Denise $301,404 (for a total of $1 million) in damages.

Sidebar: Good luck trying to collect.



source 1 | source 2