Crime & Safety

Appeals Court Rules Against Beverly Hills Man Investigated in Wife's Death

The court ruled that the man couldn't sue detectives for investigating him as a possible suspect in his wife's 2009 unexpected death.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a Beverly Hills man who was investigated as a possible suspect in his wife's death, but ultimately not charged, can't sue police. Gary Klein, whose wife Rina, 41, unexpectedly died in 2009, alleged that a former Beverly Hills police detective lied to obtain search warrants for the Klein home.

Klein appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after a Los Angeles federal judge ruled in favor of police and refused to hear the lawsuit. A three-judge 9th Circuit panel upheld the previous decision, finding that Klein failed to show that the investigator "made deliberately or recklessly false statements."

The cause of Rina Klein's death was originally thought to be a stroke but was eventually listed as undetermined and police ended their investigation, according to court papers.

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City News Service contributed to this post

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