Convicted Massachusetts Killer Faces $1M Lawsuit

The parents of a 16-year-old Massachusetts murder victim have filed a $1 million lawsuit against her killer and his mother.

Joshua Whitaker is serving a life sentence for beating Kelsea Owens of Wilbraham to death. Her body was found in a wooded area behind Whitaker’s Hampden home on August 15, 2006, after he invited Owens and a friend to smoke marijuana at his house.

In a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Hampden Superior Court last month, Owens parents allege that Joshua Whitaker had a “long history of violent and deviant behavior.” They argue that his mother, Linda Whitaker, should have known about her son’s violent streak and worked to control it.

Linda Whitaker declined to comment and told the Springfield Republican that she was not aware of the lawsuit.