We found this article on Chicago’s NBC5.com
Family Of Slain Fast-Food Manager Files Lawsuit
Daughter Met Mother’s Alleged Killer
CHICAGO — The family of a fast-food manager who police said was murdered late last month filed a wrongful-death lawsuit, claiming among other things, that the alarms at the Lindenhurst restaurant where she was employed was not working.
NBC5’s Amy Jacobson reported that the lawsuit was filed against Burger King on Tuesday, claiming negligent hiring and negligent supervision. In their lawsuit, the family said they believe the man who has been accused of killing the manager kept a key to the restaurant, which is how he gained entry into the building. Jacobson reported that the family told her off-camera that they hoped the lawsuit would bring changes in the restaurant’s hiring practice.
Police arrested 42-year-old James Ealy last week on suspicion of murdering 45-year-old Mary Hutchison. Ealy is charged with killing Hutchison, of Trevor, Wis., during a Nov. 27 robbery at the Burger King restaurant she managed in Lindenhurst. Authorities allege Ealy beat Hutchison, a former co-worker, and strangled her with the bow tie from her uniform. Her body was found near an open safe.
Family members thanked authorities for their work. Hutchison’s daughter, Rebecca, said she had met Ealy because she and her mother were co-workers.
“I did meet James Ealy a couple of months ago, when my mother would take me to Burger King,” Rebecca Hutchison said. “I just don’t know why anybody would kill anyone.”
Ealy was previously convicted of murdering the woman and the children in 1982, but that conviction was overturned on appeal. Court records show that in 1982, a 17-year-old Ealy was charged with strangling Kristina Parker, 33; her two daughters Mary Anne, 15, and Cora, 12; and Mary Anne’s 3-year-old son, Jontae, at the Rockwell Gardens housing development. The boy was also molested, and Kristina Parker was pregnant at the time of the murders.
Ealy killed his girlfriend, Mary Anne Parker and members of her family after getting upset when she teased him about an eye infection. He told police at the time that the boy, his girlfriend’s brother, “had to die” for fear that he might identify his molester.
Hutchison’s husband said he would not comment on Ealy’s past.
“I don’t want to comment on this man’s past, because you can’t go back in the past,” said Ken Hutchison. “I just want justice to be served.”
According to the lawsuit, Ealy resigned from the Burger King in November as a maintenance man Ealy also held jobs at a Gurnee McDonald’s and at a Value City department store, also located in Gurnee. McDonald’s officials said they did not do a background check on Ealy because he was not a manager.
Customers said they were surprised that the restaurant did not do a background check.
“It’s a children’s place, especially with the shopping mall and everything,” said Tricia McDonald. “So, I would expect that they would do that, just for safety’s sake.”
“Somebody has made a mistake, and everybody knows that,” Rebecca Hutchison said, reading a letter that she wrote to her mother. “So the whole family is trying to bring justice to the world. We love you very much.”
Corra realizes that terrible tragedies are often unavoidable. People are murdered or injured for the most obscure reasons, yet alone in a robbery. This is a horrible event and we extend our sympathies to all concerned, including Burger King who we are sure sees this as the last thing it ever wanted to see happen in one of its restaurants.
But these things do happen. That’s why when we review a situation like this, Corra can’t urge enough every company to conduct background checks on its job candidates. While background checks won’t guarantee against an awful incident like this it does serve in a cost effective manner to help screen out the bad seeds from the decent people who never dream of doing harm to others.
Corra goes out of its way to monitor job candidates for its clients. Be it a felony or often, even a misdemeanor that indicates violent tendencies, and we are sure to follow it up with additional research so that our clients are apprised of the potential dangers they face.
Again we express our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family, her fellow workers and the folks at Burger King who we are sure are now experiencing their worst nightmare.
Corra means it when she says Check Them Out Before You Hire!
