The parents of two Minnesota teens killed in a drunken driving crash in July have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the woman at the heart of a dispute between the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and federal immigration authorities.
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 29 by the parents of Brady Heiling and Hallie Helgeson, who died following the crash north of Madison around midnight on July 20. A criminal complaint filed against Noelia Martinez-Avila alleges she had a blood alcohol level of .208 and tampered with a court-ordered ignition interlock ordered by a judge following a previous drunken driving conviction.
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The wrongful death lawsuit alleges the teens’ deaths were the “result of the negligence and carelessness” of Martinez-Avila. An attorney representing the parents did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The suit seeks unspecified damages, which will be determined by a jury, from Martinez-Avila and two insurance companies that provided liability coverage on her vehicle.
Martinez-Avila became the center of a custody battle between the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, or ICE, following her arrest.
Sheriff Kalvin Barrett denied an ICE detainer request on July 22, which prompted ICE Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin to accuse Dane County of being a “sanctuary jurisdiction.” A statement from Barrett at the time said deporting a criminal defendant before they face trial “allows them to evade accountability” and amounts to a “‘get out of jail free card.’”
Martinez-Avila was initially held on a $250,000 bond, but after it was paid by her attorney she was released and subsequently arrested by ICE after being notified by Barrett’s office. At the time, Barrett said he stood by his previous statement about victims deserving an opportunity for justice, but also that he is “fully aware that, as Sheriff, certain aspects of the justice system are beyond my control.”
After being moved to the Waukesha County Jail, which serves as an ICE detention center, Wisconsin prosecutors in the criminal case filed several motions to raise her bail in order to get her back to Dane County. In one of those, Assistant Dane County District Attorney Alexandra Keyes said Martinez-Avila was facing “deportation in the immediate future.”
“In order to hold her accountable for these crimes against her and comply with victim’s rights, the State is requesting an emergency order either revoking the defendant’s bail or an order to return her to our jurisdiction,” Keyes said.
On Aug. 15, Judge Diane Schlipper raised Martinez-Avila’s bail to $5 million and ordered her return to Dane County, where she currently resides.
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