Attorney: Mass. family of 4 found dead was happy
Nov 19, 2013, 11:19 PM
ARLINGTON, Mass. (AP) – A man found dead with his wife and their infant twin sons in their suburban home had recently sued his former employer but had given no indication of marital problems, his attorney said on Tuesday.
Paramedic Scott Jones had filed a lawsuit accusing the former employer of inflicting severe emotional distress by firing him when he complained about faulty medical equipment, the attorney said.
Jones, his wife, Mei Kum Jones, and their sons, Colt and Cameron, were found dead in Arlington, just outside Boston, on Monday after police were asked to check on them. Both parents were 43. The twins would’ve turned 1 next week.
A relative, contradicting what Jones’ attorney reported, said Jones and his wife had been experiencing marital problems.
Authorities released few details about the deaths. Prosecutors said the deaths at the family’s home were an isolated incident and investigators weren’t looking for any suspects. They were awaiting the results of autopsies before announcing the causes of the four deaths.
Mei Kum Jones’ brother, Ben Li, said the couple had been having problems at home.
“I think he just moved out a couple of days ago, and I think she’s going through the motion of the divorce,” he told Boston’s WBZ-TV.
Attorney Timothy Burke, who represents Scott Jones in the lawsuit, filed three weeks ago against LifeLine Ambulance Services, said Jones appeared happy with his marriage and family.
“There was no indication that there is a problem internally whatsoever, just the opposite,” Burke said.
He said Jones talked about his family and was excited about being a father.
Court documents, however, indicate that Jones was distressed that LifeLine Ambulance had fired him, saying in the lawsuit that he lost his job after complaining about a faulty medication pump that had endangered the life of a disabled woman.
LifeLine Ambulance CEO Brian J. Connor didn’t immediately respond to messages left on his cellphone and office phone on Tuesday.
Jones noted in the lawsuit that he was a decorated paramedic, having received the highest award given to emergency medical technicians, the Star of Life Award, and a letter of recognition from then-U.S. Rep. Ed Markey for his efforts to save lives when an employee opened fire at an Internet consulting company in Wakefield, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday.
Seven people were killed when the assailant, wielding a shotgun and a rifle, shot colleagues before being subdued by police in December 2000.
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Associated Press Legal Affairs Writer Denise Lavoie contributed to this report.
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