$200K Awarded in Killing of Western Kentucky University Student

A lawyer representing the estate of a Western Kentucky University student killed six years ago says a hearing officer has awarded her estate $200,000.

Bowling Green attorney Ben Crocker says that amount is the maximum allowed by the Board of Claims, where the case went after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that neither the university nor the foundation that manages campus dorms could be sued over the attack.

Melissa Kaye “Katie” Autry of Hancock County was a student at Western when she was attacked and set on fire. She died three days later.

One man was sentenced to life without parole for participating in the attack, while a second was acquitted.

Western Kentucky University attorney Greg Stivers declined to comment on the case and said he hadn’t discussed the ruling with his client.