Security firm settles lawsuit over guard who killed Exeter's Cassie Heppner at Timberland

EXETER — The security firm that hired a man who fatally stabbed a Timberland marketing director he was supposed to protect has settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought forward by the Exeter woman's estate.

Michael Cormier, husband of the late Catherine “Cassie” Heppner, filed the civil negligence suit in Rockingham Superior Court against the firm Securitas Security Services USA, which was contracted to provide security guards for Timberland’s headquarters in Stratham.

The 15-count lawsuit also named Cadient, the North Carolina firm that owns Securitas' online employee screening program used to weed out unfit security guard candidates, as a defendant. The suit alleged Securitas negligently hired Robert Pavao, then 20, of Berwick, Maine, with zero security guard experience and ignored “red flags” displayed on the job about his mental state.

Pavao was convicted of murdering Heppner, a 46-year-old mother of a young son, on Feb. 9, 2020, by stabbing her twice in the neck with scissors in a storage room he had unlocked for her. Police reported Heppner's hands showed defensive wounds and Pavao told a responding Stratham police officer, “he thought” he killed Heppner. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 55 years to life in prison on Nov. 3, 2021.

Cormier's attorneys from the law firm Abramson, Brown & Dugan, informed the court Sept. 26 that Cormier "reached a confidential agreement" to resolve his claims against Securitas and Cadient.

Attorney Jared Green's motion sought the judge's approval to sign off on the settlement under state law because Cormier received workers' compensation benefits as a result of Heppner's death. The workers' compensation carrier has a lien on any potential settlement, and according to the attorney's filing, Cormier reached a "confidential settlement" to satisfy that as well.

Judge David Ruoff granted the motion after meeting with attorneys in chambers and gave the parties 60 days to file a motion to close the case. Details of the settlement are not being made public.

Attorneys for Cormier and Securitas did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Death of Patriots fan from NH: Police seek to charge 3 Rhode Island men with assault

Lawsuit claimed Securitas actions to blame for murder

Cormier filed the lawsuit March 24, 2022, after a similar litigation was withdrawn from federal court by his attorneys.

According to the lawsuit, Securitas failed to properly screen and supervise Pavao as required in its contract with Timberland. Cadient's online psychological assessment tool picked up no red flags or concerning behavior, and Securitas did not contact any of the personal references for Pavao or have him take a drug test certified by a lab as required by its contract with Timberland.

When Securitas hired Pavao at $13 per hour on Sept. 17, 2019, the lawsuit claimed the only onsite training he received consisted of a few shifts "shadowing" another guard and that he worked 57 unsupervised shifts at Timberland from Oct. 5, 2019, through Feb. 8, 2020.

One of the guards he worked with, according to the suit, observed Pavao being "antisocial" and demonstrating "significant anxiety." He also believed Pavao smoked marijuana at work and that he “used other drugs like mushrooms and LSD" but never reported it as required by the Securitas’ security guard handbook.

The same guard, according to the lawsuit, also said Pavao once asked him if there were cameras at Timberland because "if they see me on camera, they will see me screaming."

The suit alleges the guard took the statement to mean that "Pavao had a breakdown at work" and he believed the comment was a "serious red flag," but again, he did not report it as the company's handbook requests.

Additionally, the lawsuit outlines dozens of instances where security guards that Securitas and Cadient "deemed trustworthy and sound" committed crimes dating back to 2001. The most notable ones included Securitas guard James Fields Jr., who drove a car into a crowd of anti-white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one in 2017. In a 2019 case, a guard was charged with the assault of an 11-year-old girl he suspected of shoplifting in Boston, Massachusetts.

"Securitas's awareness of the foregoing incidents also demonstrates that it knew, and Cadient knew or should have known, before Pavao was vetted in 2019, that their screening process, pre-employment assessments and supervision efforts had been woefully inadequate for many years," stated the lawsuit.

More: Seabrook selectwoman under fire for telling India-born selectman to leave town

Securitas Security Services, Cadiant denied allegations

Securitas Security Services USA, through its attorneys from Morrison Mahoney and Kenney & Sams, and Cadiant denied responsibility for Heppner's death in court filings.

"To the extent anyone is to blame for Ms. Heppner's death, it appears to be Pavao," according to Securitas' answer to the lawsuit.

Attorneys for Securitas stated Pavao's conduct "represents criminal acts for which his employer is not vicariously responsible."

In its answer, Securitas denied it cut any corners in hiring, noting they contacted prior employers and conducted a background check of Pavao, "which included his absent criminal history."

The company also denied Pavao was unsupervised and agreed with the complaint that no employees reported any concerns about Pavao regarding drug use or other concerning behavior.

Cadient argued there was no nexus between the "screening tool and the alleged triggers for Mr. Pavao's conduct."

"There is no allegation that Mr. Pavao had any pre-existing mental health, drug abuse, or criminal history that should have been picked up on a screening assessment," Cadient's attorney Lisa Snow Wade stated in a motion to dismiss. "Further, the plaintiff asserts that Securitas performed a drug screen and criminal background check on Mr. Pavao, supporting that the assessment was not designed to address those areas."

‘I had a good run’: Vetter retires from NH State police, passes baton to sons

What led to settlement talks

Cormier’s lawsuit requested a jury trial, and compensation for damages and costs endured by Heppner’s estate, as well as her lost earning power due to her death.

Leading up to the settlement, there were several motions filed including Securitas looking to strike the mention of other cases involving Securitas security guards engaging in criminal activity calling it "irrelevant or impertinent." Cadient also filed a motion to dismiss the case, but it was denied Feb. 17, 2023.

Cormier and Securitas requested a halt in the case in December 2022, noting they both agreed to focus on "mediation rather than litigation."

According to a court filing, both sides went before a mediator in May 2023.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Securitas settles lawsuit over murder of Cassie Heppner at Timberland