David Camm wanted $30M after he was acquitted of killing his family, but a judge says no way

A judge has dismissed the federal civil rights case brought by David Camm, a former Indiana State trooper who was acquitted in the murders of his wife and the couple's two children at their Georgetown, Indiana, home.

Camm sued police and some state's experts, seeking $30 million in damages for alleged unlawful investigation, arrest and imprisonment. He sued a year after he was freed following a third trial in Boone County, Indiana.

Camm did not respond to messages sent through Facebook on Tuesday afternoon. But his lawyer Garry Adams said his legal team intends to appeal the decision. 

"We are very disappointed with the decision, however, our resolve is unwavering to get David Camm the justice that he deserves.  We believe as much in this case today as we did five years ago," Adams wrote in an email.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt rejected Camm's claims that investigators framed Camm and had coerced testimony from another man, Charles Boney, to link Camm to the slayings.

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The judge granted the motions of police, prosecutors and forensic examiners for summary judgment and dismissed the case with prejudice. Walton Pratt ruled that authorities properly relied on blood spatter found on Camm's clothing to find probable cause to charge him and that they had not committed misconduct in carrying out their investigations.

Boney, of New Albany, was sentenced to 225 years in prison for his role in the murders.

Attorney General Curtis Hill praised the ruling in a statement Tuesday and said that "the state will be seeking to recoup its costs for taxpayers." 

Camm didn't end up empty-handed. The 2013 suit against Floyd County and several state employees was partially resolved with a $450,000 settlement from Floyd County in September 2016. The litigation involving state employees — including former prosecutors Stan Faith and Keith Henderson — was allowed to proceed.

Camm was an Indiana state trooper but left the agency about four months before he said he returned from playing pickup basketball at a nearby church gym and found his wife Kimberly and their children Brad and Jill murdered. Investigators focused on Camm quickly after deciding that tiny blood droplets found on his t-shirt placed him at close range when a handgun was discharged.

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His defense team in the third trial convinced a jury that the police investigation was bungled and that prosecution experts had used junk science to pin the crime on Camm.

Faith said he doesn't think an appeal wiill overturn the trial court. The judge was clear in finding authorities had probable cause, he said.  

“Police investigators and prosecutors properly charged this individual with murder,” Hill said in the release. “I hope the dismissal of this lawsuit helps assure our brave officers that both state and federal laws protect them whenever they are discharging their duties in good faith.”

Grace Schneider: 502-582-4082; gschneider@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @gesinfk. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/graces.