Employer to pay after woman's death

AUBURN, Ind. (AP) - A slain woman's estate will receive a $300,000 settlement from her employer, which it says denied her permission to take New Year's Day off from her job at a northeastern Indiana group home after she told management she feared for her life.

DeKalb County Judge Monte Brown approved the settlement between the estate of Melissa Kay Patrick and Res-Care Inc. in Auburn on Monday.

Patrick, 32, was fatally shot by her boyfriend two years ago. Ronnie Jones, of Fort Wayne, called the shooting an accident, saying he shot Patrick when she tried to grab the gun from him.

Patrick's estate contended that she was ordered to work even though she told management she feared for her life after receiving about 400 text messages from Jones in the previous 24 hours. The Star of Auburn reported attorneys for the estate said they ran into problems when they couldn't determine who Patrick told about her fears.

"After we got to formal discovery, nobody could tell us when or to whom Melissa Patrick made that statement," attorney John Theisen said.

He called the settlement generous, saying it is in the best interest of the estate and Patrick's three minor children.

Patrick's family sued Jones in a separate case, and he was ordered in August 2010 to pay $2.29 million in damages. However, he is in prison, serving a 103-year sentence.

He was convicted of murder in Patrick's death and of attempted murder after firing shots the same day at the door of his estranged wife's house in Waterloo, where she lived with Patrick's estranged husband.