news-record.com

RALEIGH (AP) - A man whose pregnant wife was found fatally beaten in their North Carolina home two years ago is "willfully and unlawfully" responsible for her death, a judge ruled Friday in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Jason Young has never been criminally charged, but the civil ruling means he can't claim anything from her estate. The ruling comes in part because he never responded to the lawsuit, which was filed last month by his mother-in-law, Linda Fisher of Sayville, N.Y.

His wife, Michelle, was found dead in their Raleigh-area home in November 2006. The couple's young daughter was found inside, unharmed.

Judge Donald Stephens included in his ruling an affidavit from Wake County investigator R.C. Spivey III, who wrote that he believed Young killed his wife. Because the investigation is ongoing, Spivey wrote that he could not release other details of the case that have not been made public.

Young's attorney did not return messages seeking comment.

Earlier this week, Fisher's attorney Paul Michaels filed a court motion to declare Jason Young "the slayer" in his wife's death.

Separately, newly released court documents that were part of the investigation suggest the couple's toddler may have been drugged during the crime. Search warrants made public Friday show authorities checked an e-mail address belonging to Jason Young.

One warrant requesting a cheek swab from the couple's daughter, Cassidy, included a crime-scene photo of the child's room where authorities found a bottle of Tylenol liquid and a medicine dropper. Investigators said the medicine would render Cassidy unable to interfere in her mother's attack.

The warrants are dated last December. Authorities have said Jason Young has refused to cooperate with the investigation of his wife's death.