Securitas Security Services USA denies responsibility after guard murders Timberland employee
STRATHAM NH May 9 2021 — The security firm that employed Robert Pavao, who is accused of murdering Timberland marketing director Catherine “Cassie” Heppner in February 2020, says it bears no responsibility for her death.
Securitas Security Services USA, through its attorneys from Morrison Mahoney and Kenney & Sams, said it appears the blame should be placed on Pavao, who has been charged with first- and second-degree murder.
On Wednesday, the company filed a response to a civil lawsuit brought against it by Heppner’s husband, Michael Cormier, on behalf of her estate in New Hampshire District Court.
The suit claims Securitas negligently hired Pavao, 21, of Berwick, Maine, despite alleged “red flags” about his psychological state. Securitas had been contracted to staff security guards at Timberland and Lindt at their Stratham headquarters and Pavao worked there starting in October 2019, making $13 per hour.
In its response, Securitas stated it did not cut any corners in hiring or ignore signs Pavao was in mental distress. They stated Pavao’s conduct “represents criminal acts for which his employer is not vicariously responsible.”
Police allege Pavao was on duty Feb. 9, 2020, when he allegedly stabbed Heppner, who went into work on a Sunday to assemble several products for an upcoming business trip. According to the first-degree murder indictment, Pavao knowingly caused the death of Heppner by stabbing her “before, after, and/or while engaged in the commission of, or while attempting to commit felonious sexual assault.”
Pavao has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges in Rockingham Superior Court and is currently behind bars awaiting trial.
The 12-count lawsuit against Securitas requests a jury trial, and compensation for damages and costs endured by Heppner’s estate, as well as her lost earning power due to her death. Heppner, of Exeter, was 46 when she died, leaving behind her husband and a young son.
Catherine “Cassie” Heppner
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The civil lawsuit described Pavao as having a troubled childhood “marked by learning disabilities, apparent social delays, a complicated sexual identity, and intense anger towards his birth mother.”
It claimed Pavao allegedly used marijuana and psychedelic drugs at work, as well as allegations he had mental breakdowns at work that went unreported by another Securitas security guard supervising him for several shifts.
In its response, Securitas rejects accusations of concerns regarding Pavao’s mental state and that other Securitas employees working alongside him were aware of his alleged struggles.
“To the extent anyone is to blame for Ms. Heppner’s death, it appears to be Pavao,” Securitas’ response reads. “The allegation that ‘truly disturbing information’ was known to a Securitas employee is also not a factual statement to which a response is required, but rather plaintiff’s counsel’s own improper comment or characterization.”
The company noted no employee reported any troubling information about Pavao.
Securitas also denied the allegation it failed to live up to the terms of its contract with Timberland that it would subject security guards to drug screenings from a licensed laboratory. Heppner’s estate alleges Pavao was only given a “rudimentary” mouth swab drug test in Securitas’ local New Hampshire office.
The company also refuted allegations Pavao worked 57 unsupervised shifts between October 2019 and prior to Heppner’s murder Feb. 9, 2020, which would have constituted a breach of its contract with Timberland. Securitas’ contact with Timberland requires site-specific training from a supervising security guard, according to the complaint.
The family of a Timberland marketing director killed at the Stratham headquarters last year has filed a federal lawsuit against the company that employed the security guard charged with her murder.
In response to Securitas’ filing, attorney Mark Abramson, of Abramson, Brown & Duggan, representing the Heppner estate, said his clients’ wife and mother would still be alive if Securitas had better screened Pavao when he applied for a job.
“It is clear that if this massive, powerful, wealthy, international corporation Securitas spent as much time properly interviewing and testing prospective employees like Mr. Pavao as they now are whining about being sued, Cassie Heppner would be alive today,” Abramson said.
Securitas also filed a motion with the court to strike Heppner’s estate’s lawsuit from mentioning 11 violent crimes committed by Securitas security guards who were currently or formerly employed by the company over the last 26 years. The most notable among them occurring in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Securitas guard James Fields Jr. drove a car into a crowd of anti-white supremacist protesters, killing one in 2017.
“These other events are irrelevant to Pavao’s charged conduct, are ‘redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous,’” Securitas’ motion reads. “Allowing such incidents to remain a part of this case would require this court to conduct eleven other trials of, ‘cases within this case.’”
The suit also named Cadient as a co-defendant. The North Carolina company was used by Securitas to provide an online assessment to help the company screen competent candidates for security guard positions. Pavao passed the screening with no concerning qualities or red flags. The company has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
