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A Texas judge has ordered a cable company to pay more than $7 billion in damages to the family of an 83-year-old woman who was murdered. Betty Thomas was brutally stabbed to death in her home by Roy James Holden in 2019.
Holden, who worked as an installer for Spectrum Cable, was at her home the day before for a service call. The next day, Holden returned wearing his uniform and murdered Thomas. He then stole her credit and debit cards and went on a shopping spree.
In June, a jury found that Charter Communications, which owns Spectrum, was grossly negligent in Thomas' death, citing "systemic failures" throughout the company. Prosecutors said that Holden lied about his work history, but Spectrum never verified his employment records and missed other potential red flags that were ignored by his supervisors.
To make matters worse, Spectrum charged the family $58 for the service call and sent the unpaid bills to a collection agency.
They awarded the family $375 million in compensatory damages and said that Charter must pay 90% of the damages.
Earlier in the week, a judge announced that Charter must pay an additional $7 billion in punitive damages to Thomas' family.
"The jury in this case was thoughtful and attentive to the evidence. This verdict justly reflects the extensive evidence regarding the nature of the harm caused by Charter Spectrum's gross negligence and reckless misconduct. For the safety of the American public, we can only hope that Charter Spectrum and its shareholders are listening," attorney Chris Hamilton said.
Charter Communications said they plan to appeal the decision.
"Our hearts go out to Mrs. Thomas' family in the wake of this senseless and tragic crime. The responsibility for this horrible act rests solely with Mr. Holden, who was not on duty, and we are grateful he is in prison for life. While we respect the jury and the justice system, we strongly disagree with the verdict and will appeal," the company said in a statement.