After Nick Gordon, Bobbi Kristina Brown's ex-boyfriend, failed to show up to court Friday—his second no-show—a Georgia judge ruled that he was legally responsible for her death. In August 2015, a week after Bobbi Kristina died, her estate had filed a wrongful death suit against Gordon. The lawsuit stated that Gordon not only beat Bobbi Kristina but also drugged her and illegally withdrew money from her bank accounts.
“In court today, we finally finished a long journey for justice for Bobbi Kristina Brown,” said R. David Ware, the lawyer for Brown’s conservator. “The court agrees with us, by striking Mr. Gordon’s answer, that he is legally responsible for her death. The only thing left to prove is the value of her life. We intend to do that. Bobby Brown, the father, represented by Craig Terry, will put on evidence as well. But on behalf of the estate, we're going to demonstrate to the jury the value of her life. Mr. Gordon will not put on any evidence in contradiction of that.
“It’s not a criminal case, but it doesn’t have to be,” the lawyer added. “We want to legally establish he was responsible for her injuries that preceded her death, and we’ve done that today.”
Bobby Brown's sister, Leolah Brown, was on hand at the courthouse and spoke about her niece's death.
“It’s been a long time,” she said. “They should have been gotten him. He should have been arrested. I’m angry. I’m angry because I want to see some justice. Something has to happen, and it has to happen soon."
Bobbi Kristina was taken off life support after she had been found unconscious in the bathtub of her Roswell home in January. Autopsy reports show that she had a combination of marijuana, alcohol (ethanol), benzoylecgonine (a cocaine-related substance), benzodiazepines (medications used for sedation or to treat anxiety) and morphine in her system.
It is now up to the jury to decide how much of a settlement to give the Brown estate.