Family Of Slain Ohio Man Sues Louisiana Agencies

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The wife and daughters of an Ohio businessman kidnapped in Mississippi have sued Louisiana State Police and the state corrections department because the men charged with his murder were trusties who escaped last year from the state police compound.

According to The Advocate, the lawsuit alleges that Ricky Wedgeworth and Darian "Drake" Pierce should not have been allowed into the trusty program because they were sentenced for violent crimes — Pierce for attempted second-degree murder and Wedgeworth for armed robbery.

The lawsuit says letting inmates convicted of violent crimes into the program led to the murder of 53-year-old David Cupps of Sunbury, Ohio.

Lt. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman, says he cannot comment on the lawsuit because State Police had not been served with a copy.