Girl known as cops 9 occasions earlier than ex-husband killed her, they didn’t assist, TX go well with says

A lady was discovered useless after she known as police about her ex-husband 9 occasions, in response to a Texas lawsuit. Now her household’s suing town.

Melissa Banda, 37, had three youngsters and labored at T-Cell as a district efficiency operations supervisor, in response to the lawsuit filed Oct. 5 in Hidalgo County.

On Aug. 8, 2020, police stated her physique was present in bushes on the facet of a street in Donna, Texas. Her throat had been slit, in response to the lawsuit filed in opposition to the Metropolis of McAllen.

Richard Ford Jr., Banda’s ex-husband, has been charged with homicide in connection to her demise.

The lawsuit filed by Banda’s sister, Cynthia Banda, stated the McAllen Police Division failed to guard her regardless of her calling police for assist quite a few occasions.

“McAllen Police Division did nearly nothing to guard her,” the lawsuit says.

McClatchy Information reached out to the attorneys listed for town and police division, however they declined to touch upon the case.

Between Nov. 21, 2019, and Aug. 5, 2020, Melissa Banda known as police 9 occasions to report incidents the place she stated Ford threatened her, assaulted her or violated a safety order, the lawsuit says.

On Nov. 21, 2019, Melissa Banda reported to police that Ford was on his method to her dwelling after he was served with divorce papers and a brief safety order, the lawsuit stated.

On Feb. 28, 2020, Melissa Banda instructed police Ford assaulted her by choking her, “impeding her respiratory,” in response to the lawsuit. Across the similar time, she stated Ford threatened to hurt their youngsters, the lawsuit stated.

Ford was arrested the subsequent day and launched a day later, in response to the lawsuit.

In April 2020, the divorce between the 2 was finalized, and Ford was granted supervised visitation with their youngsters, in response to the lawsuit. Nonetheless, Ford filed a movement to change the divorce decree.

A court docket listening to was scheduled for the morning of Aug. 6, 2020. Hours after the listening to, Ford confirmed up at Melissa Banda’s dwelling, the lawsuit stated.

“(He) pulled up, approached Melissa Banda from behind, forcefully grabbed her, and coated her mouth as she started to kick and scream. (Ford) wrestled Melissa Banda into the again of a white SUV. Listening to her screams, Melissa Banda’s nanny and neighbors instantly known as the authorities and defined that (Ford) had kidnapped Melissa Banda,” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit stated that the subsequent day, she was reported as a lacking individual by the McAllen Police Division. Ford was discovered and arrested later that day, earlier than her physique was discovered, in response to the lawsuit.

“We searched 30 hours whole and I’d have stored trying endlessly… How I wanted issues would have been completely different,” her sister wrote in a Fb submit.

McClatchy Information reached out to Cynthia Banda however didn’t instantly hear again.

The lawsuit stated the police division had “a coverage or customized of treating home violence instances involving girls and/or Hispanic girls much less severely than different kinds of assault instances.”

Cynthia Banda is asking the court docket for compensatory damages and an inexpensive lawyer’s price, the lawsuit says.

Ford is charged with capital homicide by terroristic menace in the midst of aggravated kidnapping, assault on a member of the family by impeding breath or circulation; violation of a protecting order involving stalking; and stalking, in response to the lawsuit.