by Kevin Lilly
A jury has ruled that hiring a convicted murderer as a dishwasher did not make owners of the former Indian Head Restaurant responsible for the stabbing death of 16-year-old Stephanie Wagner.
Jurors deliberated for about 2 hours before rendering the verdict late Friday after four days of testimony.
The girl’s mother, Jane Gonzalez, claimed that the managers/owners of the Indian Head Restaurant in Winamac were negligent because they allowed convicted murderer Danny Rouse to work alongside Wagner. For the alleged negligence, Gonzalez was seeking compensation for damages, attorney fees and expenses for her daughter’s funeral and burial.
Defendant Mike Fitousis testified that he hired Rouse knowing he had stabbed someone. Fitousis said he did not run a background check so was unaware that Rouse in 1979 had killed a 5-year-old boy and tried to kill the boy’s mother.
Logansport attorney Courtney Justice represented Gonzalez along with attorney Perry Cross of Muncie.
“It was a disappointing verdict,” he said. “We had the firm conviction that Mr. and Mrs. Fitousis had knowledge of the violent criminal history of Danny Rouse when they hired him.”
Attorneys for the defense, the law firm of Hoeppner Wagner and Evans of Merrillville, could not be reached for comment.
Attorneys for Gonzalez accused Rouse of baiting Wagner. They say he left the restaurant about the same time, drove south instead of north toward his home and faked car trouble to lure Wagner into stopping to help him.
Within 45 minutes of leaving the restaurant the night of Oct. 31, 2006, Rouse had killed Wagner, Justice said.
Justice said his client was considering an appeal.
“We are reviewing the record to determine if an appeal is warranted,” he said.
The restaurant, a long-time Winamac landmark, is now closed.
Rouse pleaded guilty in December 2007 in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. As part of the plea bargain, he also confessed to the slayings of two Fulton County women in the 1970s.
As a result of the Wagner case, Indiana lawmakers in 2007 passed Stephanie’s Law requiring violent offenders such as Rouse to register with the state and also to wear GPS ankle bracelets.
• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.
