## Facts

- Matilda Fox married Lawrence Fox in 1949 and lived with him near Rockford, Illinois.
- In 1950, Matilda and Lawrence bought real property with their individual funds and held title as joint tenants.
- In September 1954, Lawrence murdered Matilda; three days later, he conveyed the property (valued about $20,000) to his attorney as security for attorney’s fees.
- Lawrence was convicted of Matilda’s murder and imprisoned.
- Matilda had operated a beauty shop for years and substantially contributed from her earnings to the support of her daughter from a prior marriage, Alice E. Bradley.
- Matilda’s estate administrator and Alice sued seeking (1) wrongful-death damages and (2) equitable relief to prevent Lawrence and transferees from benefitting from the killing through the joint tenancy and the post-killing conveyance.
- The trial court dismissed the complaint in full; plaintiffs appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the estate representative may maintain a wrongful-death action against the decedent’s spouse when the spouse intentionally killed the decedent, to recover beneficiaries’ pecuniary losses.
2. Whether equity may impose a constructive trust on property formerly held in joint tenancy when the surviving joint tenant murdered the other joint tenant and then conveyed the property to secure legal fees.

## Decision

- The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the dismissal and remanded.
- The court held the wrongful-death action could proceed against the spouse who murdered the decedent for the beneficiaries’ pecuniary loss.
- The court held a constructive trust could be imposed to prevent the murderer from taking the victim’s interest through survivorship and from placing the property beyond reach by conveying it to his attorney.

## Legal Principles

- Wrongful-death statutes are remedial and permit recovery for statutory beneficiaries’ pecuniary losses even when the defendant is the decedent’s spouse and the intentional wrongdoer.
- A tortfeasor’s intentional act cannot be used to defeat recovery by innocent beneficiaries based on the marital relationship.
- Equity applies the rule that no person may profit from his own wrong; a murderer cannot use the survivorship feature of joint tenancy to acquire the victim’s share.
- A court may treat the murderer as holding title subject to a constructive trust so that he retains, at most, his original undivided interest and the balance is preserved for the decedent’s estate or those equitably entitled.
- A conveyance made after the killing to secure the murderer’s attorney’s fees does not bar equitable relief when it would effectuate the murderer’s gain from the homicide.

## Conclusion

The court permitted a wrongful-death claim against a spouse-murderer and required equitable relief to prevent the killer from acquiring the victim’s joint-tenancy interest through survivorship or post-killing transfers, remanding for further proceedings.


Bradley v. Fox, 129 N.E.2d 699 (Ill. 1955)