Couple sues over Huntington stabbing

HUNTINGTON -- A woman and her husband are suing, claiming he was stabbed at a Huntington residence as they went there to retrieve her forgotten purse.

Patricia and Ezra Conn filed a lawsuit July 1 in Cabell Circuit Court against Linda Bennett.

According to the complaint, the Conns on July 4, 2007, went to Bennett's residence to get Patricia's purse, which she had left behind the night before.

Bennett is Patricia Conn's mother, the complaint says.

Allegedly without provocation, the plaintiffs say that Maria Lecea, Bennett's sister, stabbed Ezra.

Ezra's injuries were near fatal, the complaint says. He's also suffering acute stress disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia, insomnia, nightmares and increased irritability from the attack, the complaint says. Ezra's medical bills currently stand at about $29,000, the complaint says.

Patricia is suffering from emotional distress because she witnessed the stabbing and had to use her blouse to stop her husband's bleeding.

The plaintiffs say that Bennett should have warned them that her sister had just been released from a Michigan prison, where she was serving time for killing her husband with a butcher knife.

They say Bennett owed it to them and anyone else coming to her residence to warn of her sister's violent nature and criminal history.

The Conns seek compensatory damages as well as legal costs.

John F. Cyrus and S. Douglas Adkins are representing the plaintiffs. The case is before Cabell Circuit Judge F. Jane Hustead.

Cabell Circuit Court case number: 09-C-567