Perk dismissed the case against the Department of the California Highway Patrol after both Reich and O'Donnell were removed as defendants. When the defendants moved for summary judgment, Judge Steven L. O'Donnell was suspended for 25 days without pay, and Reich quit soon after, "for unrelated reasons", according to his lawyer. Īn internal investigation led the CHP to issue a formal apology and take action to prevent similar occurrences in the future, after discovering that departmental policy had been violated by the two dispatch supervisors. Initially, a judge ruled that it would be appropriate to move forward with the family's legal case against the CHP for leaking the photographs. The Catsouras family sued the California Highway Patrol and the two dispatch supervisors responsible for leaking the photographs in the Superior Court of California for Orange County.
The online harassment aspects of the case were covered by Werner Herzog in his 2016 documentary Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World. People anonymously e-mailed copies of the photos to the Catsouras family with misleading subject headers, in one case captioning the photo sent to the father with the words "Woohoo Daddy! Hey daddy, I'm still alive." This led the Catsouras family to withdraw from Internet use and, concerned that their youngest daughter might be taunted with the photographs, to begin homeschooling her. The pictures had gained much attention, including a fake MySpace tribute website that contained links to the photographs. Catsouras' parents discovered the photographs posted online. O'Donnell stated in interviews that he only sent the photos to his own e-mail account for viewing at a later time, while Reich stated that he had forwarded the pictures to four other people. Two CHP employees, Aaron Reich and Thomas O'Donnell, admitted to releasing the photographs in violation of CHP policy. These photographs were forwarded to colleagues and leaked onto the Internet. Photographs of the scene were taken by California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers as part of standard fatal traffic collision procedures. Leaked photographs Īccording to Newsweek, the Catsouras "accident was so gruesome the coroner wouldn't allow her parents to identify their daughter's body". Toxicological tests revealed traces of cocaine in Catsouras' body, but no alcohol. The Porsche crossed the road's broad median, which lacks a physical barrier on that segment, and crashed into an unmanned concrete toll booth near the Alton Parkway interchange. When he was taken off hold, the dispatcher informed him of the accident.Ĭatsouras was traveling on the 241 Toll Road in Lake Forest at approximately 1:38 pm, when she clipped a Honda Civic that she was attempting to pass on the right at over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). While doing so, he called 9-1-1, apparently minutes before the accident, and was put on hold. Lesli called her husband and he began driving around trying to find his daughter. Around 10 minutes later, her mother saw Catsouras reversing out of the driveway in Christos' Porsche 911 Carrera, which she was not permitted to drive.
Afterward, her father, Christos Catsouras, left for work while her mother Lesli remained at home. On October 31, 2006, Catsouras and her parents ate lunch together at the family home in Ladera Ranch, California. Never died.īackground Circumstances of the accident The Nikki Catsouras photographs controversy concerns the leaked photographs of Nicole "Nikki" Catsouras (september 5 1998).
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