Negligent Hiring Results In Woman's Murder

Would you be shocked to find out that the worker sent over to fix your kitchen sink was a violent felon recently released on parole? Would you expect that the plumbing company would have your safety in mind and conduct some kind of a background check on an employee before sending him into your home? Unfortunately this was not done for Mary Ruth Bales when her sink sprung a leak and she called Reddi Root'r plumbing company. Mrs. Bales paid for her misplaced trust with her life. Steve Six represented the Bales family in their negligent hiring claim against Reddi Root'r.

In September of 1998, Wesley Purkey, a violent felon who had spent the last twenty-five years in prison for various violent felonies, including aggravated robbery, burglary, assault and kidnapping, walked into the Reddi Root'r plumbing company in Kansas City, Kansas and applied for a job as a service technician to perform simple plumbing repairs in customers' homes. Purkey was released on parole on March 1, 1997, having completed a

Wesley Purskey (center), charges with Mary Bales' murder.

fifteen-year sentence for various violent felonies. Over the next year and a half he worked in six or seven different construction jobs, often working less than one week before he was fired. During this time, Purkey began using methamphetamine and crack cocaine and was hospitalized twice for overdoses. Purkey is an imposing 6' 4" in height with numerous tattoos up and down his arms, including a swastika on his right bicep. At Reddi Root'r, Purkey completed an application, said he had not been convicted of a crime or served time in prison and he was hired. Reddi Root'r gave him a company van and sent him into customers' homes without checking with any of his prior employers or references, who were aware of his criminal background, and without conducting a criminal background check. Concerned about the effect Purkey's tattoos would have on their customers, Reddi Root'r made sure Purkey wore a long sleeve white uniform.

Mary Ruth Bales, an 80-year-old widow who lived alone, noticed her kitchen

sink would not stop dripping. She called Reddi Root'r, a company which offered senior discounts, to come repair the sink. Reddi Root'r dispatched Wesley Purkey to her home. Purkey gave Mrs. Bales an estimate, collected $90 from her to go buy plumbing parts, and left. He went to buy crack cocaine, got a prostitute and went to a motel. After smoking all the crack, he returned to Mrs. Bales' home, and robbed and beat her to death.

Mrs. Bales' family brought a negligent hiring claim against Reddi Root'r alleging that the company had violated its duty to evaluate Purkey's safety and fitness for employment before sending him into her home. The court granted plaintiffs' motion to add a claim for punitive damages, although an award of punitive damages would have interjected an appealable issue into any jury award. The case was settled one week before trial for the full amount permitted under Kansas law in a wrongful death/survival claim, $500,000.

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