DENVER—A woman who killed her two sons and then herself was solely responsible for the tragedy, not a Colorado Springs hospital where she had been treated and released two days before, according to the hospital’s response Wednesday to a lawsuit.
Donald Rifkin filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in April accusing Memorial Hospital of failing to take proper steps to protect Julie Rifkin and their sons when she was taken to the emergency room after making threats.
Also named in the suit were Dr. Clinton Fouss, who treated Julie Rifkin in Memorial’s emergency room, and clinical social worker Yvette Sletta, who also evaluated her. In a motion, the three defendants claim Julie Rifkin’s actions were the sole cause of the deaths.
A message left after business hours for an attorney for Donald Rifkin was not immediately returned.
Donald Rifkin had been laid off from a job and was working out of state when the bodies of his 41-year-old wife and their 12-year-old son Gabriel were found April 24, 2005, in their home. His 13-year-old son Nathan suffered a gunshot wound to the head and died later that day.
Julie Rifkin was evaluated at the hospital two days before the bodies were found after a co-worker called 911 to report Rifkin said she thought she would get a gun and kill herself and her sons.
Rifkin purchased a revolver from a pawnshop the day after her release from the hospital.
