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Last updated on Wednesday, October 1, 2014
(INDIANAPOLIS) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against two men in the case of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer.
Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled in favor of defendants Corey Rossman and Jason Rosenbaum.
Robert and Charlene Spierer, Lauren's parents, brought the civil negligence lawsuit against the two men in connection with their daughter's disappearance in June 2011.
In the lawsuit, the Spierers claimed Rosenbaum invited Lauren to a party at his home; saw she was intoxicated and supplied her with alcohol. The Spierers claim Rossman took Lauren to Kilroy's where he bought her multiple alcoholic beverages.
Multiple individuals observed Lauren "in a distressed, incoherent and non-responsive state."
The lawsuit claims Lauren spent time at Rossman's apartment, then Rosenbaum's residence before leaving on her own. She has not been seen since.
In the lawsuit, the Spierers claimed Rossman and Rosenbaum were negligent because they gave Lauren alcohol knowing she was already intoxicated.
WTHR reports, the judge ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to move forward on the lawsuit, saying, "unfortunately, there could be any number of theories as to what happened to Lauren and what, if any, injuries she may have sustained. Without evidence to prove these theories, it would be impossible for a jury to determine if whatever happened to Lauren was a natural and probable consequence of her intoxication, without any other intervening acts that would break the causal chain."
"Although the Court has great sympathy for the Spierers, they have failed to meet their burden of showing that there is a genuine dispute of material fact with respect to the element of causation," wrote Judge Pratt.
The Spierers could appeal the judge's ruling.
Charlene Spierer posted to Twitter, "A bump in the road does not end a journey."
Lauren Spierer has been missing three years and the Bloomington Police Department is still investigating leads. 20-year-old Indiana University student may never have left their townhouse complex alive after she arrived there, unsteady and with bruising to her face, following a night of heavy partying.
Having been frustrated by the lack of progress by police and their own private investigators, Lauren's parents were hoping the lawsuit would force more information from Rosenbaum and Rossman. They believe the men, who have long since left the university town and are pursuing careers out of state, are still withholding information about their time with Spierer in the hours leading to her disappearance.
Lawyers for Rosenbaum and Rossman maintain Spierer left the housing complex on her own and that the young men bare no responsibility.
The lack of answers has left the Spierers trapped in time. They accept that their daughter is dead but are unwilling to move on.
The Timeline:
Friday, June 3, 2011
12:30 a.m. - Witnesses report that Lauren left her apartment with a friend named David Rohn. The pair went to Jay Rosenbaum's apartment and she met up with Cory Rossman, Rosenbaum's neighbor.
1:46 a.m. - Spierer is seen entering Kilroy's Sports bar with Cory Rossman.
2:27 a.m. - She is seen exiting the bar with Rossman. Lauren left her cell phone and shoes at the bar. She had taken off her shoes when she walked out onto the sand-covered patio. Rossman walked with Spierer to her apartment complex.
2:30 a.m. - She is then seen entering Smallwood Plaza Apartments, where her residence is located. A passerby named Zach Oakes noticed her level of inebriation and asked if she was okay. Rossman reportedly replied: "She's OK, I got it." Oakes stated that he told Rossman to take her back to her room. Rossman cursed at Oakes, which led to an altercation in which Oakes punched him, knocking him to the floor. Rossman claimed that this blow caused him to lose his memory of the evening.
2:42 a.m. - Exits apartment complex. Police reported that Spierer did not go to her fifth-floor apartment during this short visit. Surveillance video shows Spierer stumbling and Rossman helping her to her feet and walk out of the building. A few minutes later, she is witnessed by a bystander sitting down on a staircase and falling backwards, hitting her head on the concrete step. The noise of the impact was loud enough for the bystander to hear it and ask whether she was all right. According to the woman, Rossman replied, "She's OK, I'll take care of it." After they continued up the street, she is witnessed falling again. Because of her intoxication level, she didn't raise her hands to cushion the blow and her face hit the ground unguarded. A few steps later, she fell a third time. At this point, Rossman began carrying Spierer.
2:48 a.m. - After she left the apartments, she entered an alley that runs between College Avenue and Morton Street.Security camera mounted on nearby apartments show her exit the alley at 2:51 a.m. and walk toward an empty lot. Spierer's keys and purse were found along this route through the alley. Spierer and Rossman arrived at Rossman's apartment shortly after. Michael Beth, his neighbor, was in his own apartment studying. Rossman himself was very intoxicated and stumbling. He vomited on the carpet on the way upstairs. Beth stated that he escorted Rossman to bed. He then tried to persuade Spierer to sleep over for her own safety. He claimed Spierer said she wanted to return to her own apartment.
3:30 a.m. - Beth said he then phoned his neighbor, Rosenbaum, wanting him to take care of her. Beth said that Spierer was attempting to get Beth to drink with her at her own apartment. She eventually went to Rosenbaum's apartment, where he observed bruise under her eye, presumably sustained in the falls earlier in the evening. She told him she didn't know how she got the bruise. Two calls were placed from Rosenbaum's phone shortly before she is reported to have left. Rosenbaum said Spierer placed both calls, one to Rohn and one to another male friend. Neither picked up and no messages were left.
4:30 a.m. - Rosenbaum reports that she left the apartment. This is the last reported sighting of Lauren Spierer. He reported last seeing Spierer at the intersection of 11th Street and College Avenue, headed south on College. She was last seen wearing black leggins, a white shirt, and no shoes.
Several hours later that morning, Jesse Wolff sends Lauren a text. He gets a reply back from an employee at the bar. He reports her missing.
In August 2011, Police conducted a nine-day search of the Sycamore Ridge Landfill in Pimento, south of Terre Haute for clues in the disappearance. The landfill is where is where trash from Bloomington gets hauled after a stop at a transfer station. The Bloomington Police Department, Indiana University Police and the FBI took part in the search.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the Bloomington Police Department at 812-339-4477 or by e-mail at policetips@bloomington.in.gov
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