The murder of Sam DuBose by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing on July 19, 2015, shocked the country. DuBose was pulled over by Tensing for not having a license plate on the front of his car, a violation of Ohio law. However, during the stop something went horribly wrong and DuBose was shot in the head by Tensing. Tensing claims that DuBose tried to run him over with his car and he was dragged by the vehicle when he tried to drive off.
Tensing was charged with murder ten days after the incident and is awaiting trial on these charges. A lawsuit was filed in the killing of Dubose and the University of Cincinnati agreed to a payout of $4.85 million to the family. With all that money came a lot of problems, as DuBose’s 13 children, parents, siblings and fiancée are now battling over how much money they should receive. This week ,19 lawyers that represent at least a dozen members of DuBose’s family members appeared in court to share reasons why they should get a significant share of the money. The argument even extended to DuBose’s father, who claims he should get more money than his mother for the killing of their son. His mother stated that she suffered the greatest loss and demanded the majority of the settlement. Sadly, the children and fiancée were in the courtroom to witness the spectacle of family members they said were telling lies about DuBose and his relationships.
DuBose had 13 children by 11 different mothers, seven of his children are adults and Ohio law dictates that the estate should be split among his surviving children. But in a heated court hearing, which the lawyers called unsavory, even DuBose’s siblings are trying to lay claim to the money from his death. DuBose’s biological father, Sam Johnson, never married his mother and spent five years in prison when his son was an infant. Despite this, he claims that he was still a frequent part of his son’s life and his grief is just as great as DuBose’s mother. For her part, Audrey DuBose stated that she felt that Johnson was absent from her son’s life and in effect was “trying to rob us of the right to administer his estate.”
A total of 21 people, including DuBose’s children, are in line to receive money from the lawsuit. A judge is expected to make his ruling on April 20, 2016.
