Suit claims APD gawked at body, ignored clues

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Was Mary Han murdered ? Was she robbed? These are questions her family says Albuquerque Police should have been asking.

Instead, a new lawsuit says cops were only concerned with taking a look at the body of a woman who had fought the department in court many times.

Han's law partner, Paul Kennedy, found the body after she failed to show up for work.

The first cops on the scene reported being "Concerned the deputy chiefs would push themselves in the home."

The public safety director at the time, Darren White, along with three Deputy Chiefs, ended up inside Han's home - supposedly just to see her body.

The suit even claims Deputy Chief Paul Fiest decided within minutes it was a suicide, and then wouldn't let officers call in specialized detectives to process the scene.

The lawsuit also alleges cops never got a warrant to go through Han's home and personal things; the suit claims they even riffled through notes she had on pending lawsuits against APD.

It also claims cops may have taken pictures of Han's body and texted them out. Something we won't know because the department changed out the phones despite knowing they could be the subject of a lawsuit.

The lawsuit also criticizes Han's business partner Paul Kennedy. The suit says Han told him she was leaving the law firm the night before her death. It also claims he took her computer and cell phone without permission

As for Han, the lawsuit says her carbon monoxide levels were too high to have been caused by a running car. It points out that Han's BMW had a sensor to turn itself off to keep drivers from dying from CO poisoning.

The family wants to know what happened to the diamond rings Han always wore. They were worth more than $100 thousand. Paul Kennedy told cops Han didn't have the rings on when he found her. The lawsuit claims he told the family the cops took the rings.

Kennedy, who just lost his bid for a spot on the State Supreme Court, had no comment on the lawsuit and APD would not go on camera.

The city attorney gave us a short statement that said the lawsuit is factually inaccurate and the city is confident a judge will dismiss it.