The lawsuit filed on behalf of Samantha Freels’ next of kin claims they suffered damages because of her death. In the motion, the administrator asks the judge to also schedule a hearing to determine the amount of damages the estate should receive. The lawsuit claims Randy Freels “intentionally and willfully, and/or recklessly, and/or negligently, caused the death.”
Samantha Freels, 52, was found deceased in her car the afternoon of Jan. 12 along Ohio 55 near West Milton. Responders initially thought she died in a car accident during a snow storm. Investigators, however, found a bullet hole in her car, leading to the discovery of the gunshot wound.
Randy Freels, 57, has pleaded not guilty to indictments accusing him of murder, felonious assault, discharging a firearm into a habitat and tampering with evidence. His bond was set at $1.5 million.
Freels was transferred March 17 from the Miami County Jail to the Twin Valley Behavioral Health Care Center in Columbus for treatment and stabilization at the order of Judge William McGregor Dixon Jr. He was asked by prosecutors on behalf of the sheriff’s department to transfer Freels because his “current condition and security risk is beyond that which can be managed within the Miami County Jail.”
Once Freels is stabilized, he will be returned to the jail, according to the court order.
On March 19, Judge Jeannine Pratt ordered competency and sanity evaluations of Freels at the request of public defender Jack Hemm who March 16 asked the court to order the evaluations. Pratt is the judge assigned to the criminal case and the lawsuit.
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