A mother whose daughter was murdered is suing American Life
Assurance of Columbus (AFLAC) because it has refused to pay the death
benefit on life insurance the daughter applied for shortly before her
death.
According to the complaint, on June 22, 2004, Michelle
Williams of Lynwood, Illinois, applied for a life insurance policy on
her own life and named her mother, plaintiff Kathryn Depratto, as the
beneficiary. AFLAC issued a temporary binder while the policy of
insurance was being issued, the complaint states.
Then,
Michelle Williams was murdered by strangulation and blunt trauma on
July 1 (presumably of 2004 - the complaint states 2005 but also states
proof of death was provided in 2004) and the homicide remains unsolved.
The complaint indicates that Depratto is not a suspect and that the
Chicago Police Department detectives verbally informed AFLAC of this
but would not put it in writing while the investigation was still open.
In November 2004, AFLAC denied the claim due to "insufficient
proof of loss" stating that it required the name of the person charged
with the homicide. In 2009, AFLAC closed the file, while the
investigation into the death of Michelle Williams remains open.
Read the complaint after the jump.
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