The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will take up a lawsuit from a mother suing the parents of the man who murdered her son, along with the couple’s marriage counselor.
Christian Moore-Rouse, 22, was shot in the back of the head by his friend Adam Rosenberg, who is serving a life sentence, on December 21, 2019.
Moore-Rouse’s mother, T. Lee Rouse, sued Rosenberg’s parents in 2021, alleging that they had found the murder weapon and given it to their marriage counselor, who turned it over to police and lied about its provenance.
Both the trial court and the Pennsylvania Superior Court determined that Rouse’s claim failed because they never actually touched her son’s body, the local newspaper reported. TribLive.
Rouse appealed the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which approved his request on Tuesday.
Christian Moore-Rouse (pictured), 22, was shot in the back of the head by his friend Adam Rosenberg, who is serving a life sentence, on December 21, 2019.
Moore-Rouse’s mother, T. Lee Rouse (pictured), sued Rosenberg’s parents in 2021 alleging that they had found the murder weapon and given it to their marriage counselor, who turned it over to police and lied. about its origin.
Although Moore-Rouse was murdered in December 2019, his body was not found until March 3, 2020 near Rosenberg’s home in Fox Chapel.
Moore-Rouse’s mother is suing the parents of her son’s killer, Adam Rosenberg (pictured), alleging they found a gun and gave it to his marriage counselor, delaying police from finding her body. son.
The mother is asking the state Supreme Court to decide whether Kimberly and Howard Rosenberg and their marriage counselor Martha Lux are liable for damages under a state law called the interference with corpse tort.
The tort allows a family member of the deceased to sue for damages due to emotional distress caused by someone interfering with the proper burial of a body.
Although Moore-Rouse was murdered in December 2019, his body was not found until March 3, 2020 near Rosenberg’s home in Fox Chapel.
According to police, Rosenberg had invited Moore-Rouse to his home, then shot his friend in the back of the head, dragged his body down the driveway and hid it off the road.
By the time Moore-Rouse’s body was discovered, Rosenberg had been arrested for a second murder, he reported. KDKA.
Rosenberg shot and killed a man he allegedly met on a dating app, Jeremy Dentel, 28, inside his Baldwin home in February 2020.
Rosenberg pleaded guilty but was mentally ill in both cases and was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences. At one point, Rosenberg said Satan was forcing him and he wanted to be a serial killer.
During the investigation of the Moore-Rouse case, police learned that Rosenberg’s parents had found the murder weapon and brought it to Laux.
On Jan. 20, 2020, Laux brought the gun to Allegheny County police and said he found it in a park while walking his dog.
Rouse’s lawsuit claims these actions delayed the police investigation and discovery of her son’s body.
“Kimberly Rosenberg and Howard Rosenberg brought the Ruger SR9C 9mm handgun to their marriage counselor, defendant Laux,” Rouse’s attorney, Mark Homyak, said in the filing.
“Laux falsely told police that he had found a loaded magazine and the unloaded gun on a trail near Southridge Drive in North Park while he was walking his dog.”
According to police, Rosenberg had invited Moore-Rouse to his home, then shot his friend in the back of the head, dragged his body down the driveway and hid it off the road. In the photo: a path leading to the Rosenberg house.
Rouse’s lawsuit claims that the parents’ and counselors’ actions delayed the police investigation and the discovery of their son’s body.
Rosenberg shot and killed a man he allegedly met on a dating app, Jeremy Dentel (pictured), 28, inside his Baldwin home in February 2020.
Homyak said WPXI“The duty of confidentiality ends when a crime is proposed during the session and the counselor has a duty to tell the client not to commit the crime and certainly not to participate in it.”
The trial court and Superior Court denied Rouse’s claims because they said neither the Rosenbergs nor Laux touched their son’s body.
“At most, Rouse’s complaint alleges that the Rosenbergs somehow came into possession of the murder weapon and knew or suspected that Adam was responsible for Christian’s disappearance, and that they used their marriage counselor to turn the murder weapon over to police. under a false explanation,” the High Court stated.
“While these facts may not paint the defendants in a positive light, they also do not show that they did anything to conceal the location of a murder victim’s body or prevent police from discovering it, much less knowing where it was located. “.