Nov. 09--The man acquitted this year of killing his pregnant fiancee is suing more than a dozen investigators in the case, claiming they mishandled evidence and violated his rights.
In a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in South Carolina, Michael Mead claims investigators prevented justice for his fiancee's killer.
In July, a jury acquitted Mead of the 2008 killing of 31-year-old Lucy Johnson. He'd been accused of shooting Johnson in the back of the head and burning her Gaston County home. She was pregnant with Mead's child at the time of her death.
Mead, who lives in York County, S.C., could have faced the death penalty.
Now he's suing the Gaston County Police Department, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, and several officers and detectives, including Gaston County Police Chief James Buie.
Buie told Observer news partner WCNC-TV he would not comment on the lawsuit but said the investigation was "very fair and impartial."
But Mead claims his arrest was based on "false grounds and unreliable evidence" and that he was wrongly incarcerated for about 49 days, the lawsuit says.
During his three years as an accused killer, his business was destroyed, his reputation irreparably harmed, and he was unable to properly grieve the loss of Johnson and their unborn child, the lawsuit says. He's been sued by creditors and forced to file bankruptcy, and his home is being foreclosed.
"You can't get back three years of lost time, that's time you will never recover," Mead told WCNC-TV.
Mead claims police gave him a gunshot residue test after the killing to determine whether he'd fired a gun. But police first denied they'd performed the test and later admitted that they'd lost the results, the lawsuit says.
Investigators mishandled evidence, violating "basic law enforcement standards applicable to criminal investigations," the lawsuit alleges.
During the six-week trial, prosecutors said Mead was upset with Johnson because she refused to have an abortion.
But the lawsuit says investigators had no reliable evidence to support such theories. The suit also alleges authorities "failed to follow leads and thoroughly investigate" Johnson's ex-boyfriend.
At trial, Mead's attorneys identified James Spelock as a possible suspect, who had previously abused and threatened Johnson.
Spelock has denied that he had any part in the killing.
Mead is seeking more than $100,000 in damages.
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