Mauling Chimp's Owner Won't Face Charges

Charla Nash must pursue justice in civil court, Conn. prosecutor says
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 7, 2009 4:09 PM CST
Mauling Chimp's Owner Won't Face Charges
The gated driveway to the home where a Charla Nash was mauled by a chimpanzee this week is seen on Feb. 20, 2009, in Stamford, Conn.   (AP Photo/Douglas Healey)

The woman whose pet chimpanzee mauled her friend, leaving her blind and disfigured, will not face criminal charges, a prosecutor said today. To win its case, 'the state would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk," the state's attorney for Stamford, Conn., said. Sandra Herold's conduct didn't meet that standard, he found, so the case is a matter for the civil courts, where Charla Nash has already sued Herold for $59 million, NBC Connecticut reports.
(More Sandra Herold stories.)

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