Mother kill by hit man, kids get $32.4M

[Champ]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A jury has awarded $32.4 million to the children of a woman killed by a hit man their father hired 30 years ago.

Eloise Bonicelli's three children were each awarded $10.8 million for the death of their mother, who was shot by an intruder in her Colorado Springs home in 1975.

The jury on Tuesday found the estate of businessman Joe Bonicelli, who died in 1998, liable in the death. Also found liable were businessman Tom Phillips and convicted killer Delfino Ortega.

Phillips and Bonicelli both owned bars in the 1970s in Colorado Springs.

Phillips, who was given immunity to testify during a 2001 trial, admitted he hired Ortega to arrange his own wife's killing in 1974 so he could collect a $200,000 life insurance policy. He also put Bonicelli in contact with the same hit man.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-us-12-l4&flok=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050112%2F1901147084.htm&sc=1110

[rodeodance]

1. no doubt this would be one of the 'frivulous' law suits!!

[ET Awful]

2. That depends . . .

on whether the kids vote Republican or not.

[Alpharetta]

3. Uncollectable

If she got killed for $200,000 in life insurance, it's unlikely $10Million is in the picture.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. No, it was Phillips' wife who was killed for the $200,000 insurance

Bonicelli owned a business valued at more than $1 million 30 years ago. That might have grown to $30 million before he died in 1998.

The world's largest pearl is also involved in the estate, according to several reports like this. Exactly how much Bonicelli and Phillips owned of it, I'm not sure.