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GRAND JUNCTION — An 88-year-old sheep rancher long accused of causing the death of a salesman about 40 years ago has been cleared.
A Mesa County jury has found Nick Theos of Meeker not liable on all three claims in a wrongful-death lawsuit. The ruling ended a lawsuit brought by the son of Meeker salesman Jim Robinson, who died in 1969.
Robinson died of intoxication from thallium, a poison used by ranchers in the 1950s and ’60s to kill coyotes and rats.
Theos, a former state lawmaker, married Robinson’s widow after the death.
No criminal charges were filed in Robinson’s death.
After the verdict Friday, a lawyer for Theos said his client has finally been exonerated of wrongdoing.
