The family of Walker Sisk, who was stabbed to death in November 2003, has served his killer, Andrew Alston, with a $3 million lawsuit.
Alston was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for stabbing Sisk, a 22-year-old volunteer firefighter, 18 times in a drunken altercation at the corner of 14th and Wertland streets. He was released from jail on June 21.
The victim’s family and lawyers waited until Alston was no longer incarcerated to serve the suit. “If it was served while Alston was still in prison, then the State would have to pay for a lawyer to defend him. That’s not something we want,” the Sisks’ attorney, Bryan Slaughter, told C-VILLE in early June.
The lawsuit claims “As a result of Walker’s death, Howard and Barbara Sisk have lost their only child, and therefore have suffered substantial damages and losses.” The suit seeks $2 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
“Obviously for the Sisks, money is not what they’re after. They’re after any measure of justice, and they don’t feel like they got it in the criminal case,” says Slaughter. Alston was released from his three year sentence nearly five months early for good behavior. “This is all they have left,” Slaughter says.
The suit has been filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court, and is in early litigation stages. The Sisks are waiting for Alston’s attorneys to answer the suit.
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