Former Pennsylvania senator Robert Regola III, his son Bobby, and his wife Janet have all been named as defendants in a lawsuit concerning the 2006 death of their neighbors’ son. Fourteen year old Louis Farrell was found shot to death in the woods near the Farrells’ and Regolas’ homes inn July 2006. The gun used in his death was found nearby: a 9 mm pistol registered in Robert Regola’s name. Although the death was initially ruled a suicide by the coroner, the Farrell family is claiming that Bobby, also a teenager at the time, was present at the time of Louis’s death.

Robert and Janet were out of town on the day of the shooting. Before leaving, they had given Louis keys to their home so he could feed their dogs. According to Bobby, he returned home after some time away to find his father’s gun missing. He contacted his father, who called his brother over to search the home for the weapon and any possible intruders. The missing weapon was not reported to the police.

Bobby has been convicted in a juvenile court of illegal possession of a handgun, but has not faced any criminal charges related to Louis’s death. His father Robert charged with perjury and charges related to letting his minor son have unsupervised access to a firearm, but he has been acquitted. Despite this, the Farrell’s wrongful death lawsuit alleges that Janet, Robert, and Bobby Regolas are all partially responsible for Louis’s death. The parents are being accused of giving their son access to a firearm. Bobby has been accused of bringing the gun with him when he went to meet Louis in the woods, and using the gun in a careless way that led to the teenager’s death.

For more information personal injury and the law, contact Philadelphia wrongful death attorneys Lowenthal & Abrams at 215-329-3511.