The groom whose bride was killed by a South Carolina suspected drunken driver on their wedding night is now embattled in a legal fight with his mother-in-law over control of his deceased wife’s estate.
Lisa Miller, mother of 34-year-old Samantha Miller, is even contesting the hours-old marriage between her daughter and Aric Hutchinson, the Post and Courier reported. The bride was killed in April when their golf cart was struck as they left their Folly Beach wedding reception.
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, of New Jersey, told police she drank a shot of tequila and one beer about an hour before the horrifying April 28 collision. Komoroski allegedly slammed her gray Toyota rental into the couple’s golf cart while traveling 65 mph – twice the legal limit on the island near Charleston.
MOTHER OF SOUTH CAROLINA BRIDE KILLED IN WEDDING CRASH LASHES OUT AT ACCUSED DRUNK DRIVER
Months after the tragedy, Lisa Miller filed a petition to remove Hutchinson as the personal representative of her daughter’s estate. She claims her daughter would have wanted her to get a share of the inheritance.
“Aric and I agreed several times that Sam would want us to do everything together given we’re the two most important people in her life,” she told the newspaper. “I never wanted to challenge the validity of the marriage. I never wanted to dishonor Sam. But I feel like Aric is dishonoring my daughter in going against her wishes.”
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Hutchinson’s attorney told the paper that his client has been “more than generous” with his mother-in-law.
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“She has repaid him by threatening to bring a frivolous challenge to the validity of his marriage to Sam,” attorney Patrick Wooten, said. “One would hope that Ms. Miller would have too much respect for her own daughter to do that.”
After praising her son-in-law following her daughter’s death, Miller said she was alarmed at the speed with which Hutchison moved to cash in on the tragedy, the report said.
His lawyers said he has offered Miller half of any recovery in a wrongful death lawsuit if she stopped challenging the validity of the marriage.
“Aric has made this settlement offer not because Lisa Miller had a valid legal claim — she does not — but rather because he is a generous person and, of course, would prefer to avoid painful, public litigation over the validity of his marriage to Sam,” Wooten said.
Miller’s attorney, Jerry Meechan, said her “main reason to intervene is to protect the Estate of Samantha Miller and all of its rightful heirs. There is no reason to rush the process and cloak [it] in secrecy,” he claimed. “This was a money grab from minute one.”
Komoroski is charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of felony driving under the influence. A wrongful death lawsuit names her and four bars accused of over-serving Komoroski on the night she allegedly drove drunk.
Fox News Digital’s Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.
Original article source: Grieving South Carolina groom whose bride killed hours after wedding battles mother-in-law over estate: report