Ruling handed down in wrongful death lawsuit

EPHRATA — A Grant County judge has ruled that a Grant County woman did not improperly convince a Soap Lake orchardist to give her over $2 million in property and other benefits before his death in the country of Belize in 2014.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed against 45-year-old Tracy Nessl, who currently resides in Grant County, boiled down to the heirs of Soap Lake orchardist Timothy P. McNamara’s estate alleging Nessl improperly convinced McNamara, her husband, as well as uncle, to give her nearly $2 million in real and personal property before his death in Belize in 2014 at the age of 66.

The plaintiffs in the case, McNamara’s children, Jennifer Ralston and Caleb McNamara, were seeking a court order to require Nessl to return the money their father gave Nessl in the years leading up to his death. The plaintiffs alleged Nessl “financially exploited” her husband, who they stated was a “vulnerable adult.”

Timothy McNamara and Nessl, who is the daughter of McNamara’s brother, became involved in a romantic relationship in 2012, as McNamara was going through a divorce. McNamara gifted Nessl three properties by quitclaim deed, including a family farm, and listed her as a beneficiary in his will and several life insurance policies.

In his ruling Grant County Superior Court Judge John Knodell stated there was no evidence to prove that Nessl convinced McNamara to give her any of the previously listed items.

“Even if Mr. McNamara beleived that Mrs. McNamara (Nessl) was to hold the gifted property in trust, we still do not know what part, if any, she played in bringing about Mr. McNamara’s understanding,” wrote Knodell. “Mr. McNamara had a fundamental right to give his property to whomever he pleased.”

Knodell suggested McNamara was “disaffected” from his three ex-wives and children and gave Nessl the property primarily to keep them from getting their hands on it.

“Even if Mrs. McNamara did something to bring about the rift in the McNamara family’s lute, it is not part of the record before the court. Mrs. McNamara may have suggested the gifts as a means to satisfy a grudge Mr. McNamara harbored against his relatives, but there is no evidence she did so,” Knodell wrote. “The gifts may have come about simply because Mr. McNamara became disenchanted with his children and infatuated with Mrs. McNamara at roughly the same time.”

Knodell granted Nessl’s motion for a summary judgment, which resolves a case before trial, on the plaintiff's “undue influence claim.”

A couple of years into their relationship McNamara and Nessl moved to the Central American country of Belize, where McNamara purchased a piece of property to operate a bed and breakfast. McNamara purchased the property with his own funds and placed the title in both his and Nessl’s names. Nessl claimed she and McNamara married while in Belize, but the judge labeled their relationship as “uncertain” when it comes to the marriage’s legal status.

McNamara was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head on Christmas Day in 2014. Authorities initially believed the death was a suicide. But a forensic report later submitted by the National Forensic Science Service in Belize concluded McNamara’s death was not a suicide. The report concluded the position of McNamara’s entry wound was “practically uncomfortable” for McNamara to have fired the fatal shot.

With no back spatter of blood or brain tissue matter found on McNamara’s right hand, investigators concluded his hand was not in close proximity to the wound at the time of the shot. Nessl fled Belize back to Grant County after McNamara’s death. Interpol later issued an arrest warrant for Nessl, in which she was named as the prime suspect in McNamara’s death.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.