Caroline Ashworth (Facebook photo from Caroline Ashworth’s profile), Michael Mollow (in an Instagram photo from his dental practice, as seen in a patient’s account of the tragedy).
A grieving mother has filed a lawsuit claiming that a town in Connecticut and a hospital are liable for the death of a murder-suicide victim who was shot and killed by an “obsessed” dentist after the gunman tracked his ex-girlfriend by GPS in August 2022.
Angela Ashworth, as administratrix of 21-year-old Caroline Anne Ashworth’s estate, filed suit on Oct. 17 in Hartford Superior Court alleging that the Town of Branford’s police department and St. Vincent’s Medical Center, owned and operated by named defendant SVMC Holdings Inc., could have prevented her daughter’s death but failed to act.
Caroline Ashworth was shot and killed on the night of Aug. 27, 2022, around 33 hours after dentist Michael Mollow, a 59-year-old divorced father of two with access to numerous firearms, was discharged from the hospital, where he allegedly acknowledged having homicidal ideations and an obsession with the victim. Mollow, angry that Caroline was socializing with other men, tracked the young woman by GPS and shot her three times with a Glock before turning the gun on himself in Wethersfield, the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit obtained by Law&Crime, Caroline Ashworth was around 18 years old when her three-year relationship a then-married Dr. Michael Mollow began in 2019 or 2020.
Mollow paid for Caroline’s rent and her cell phone and the two eventually lived together at his home. In July 2022, just month before the victim’s death, the dentist convinced her to trade in her Nissan so she could drive a 2019 Ford F-150 he “purported to buy” for her, the lawsuit said.
Mollow then “utilized a GPS application to track the Truck and Caroline’s location while utilizing the Truck,” the suit added.
A couple of weeks later, on Aug. 9, 2022, Caroline Ashworth called 911 for the first time, telling the Branford Police Department that she feared Mollow was going to kill her, that he had threatened to shoot her in the past, and that he had also choked her, the lawsuit said. On Aug. 15, five days later, Caroline made another 911 call, her mother said. The lawsuit claimed that during the second call Caroline said Mollow was jealous that she had been socializing with other males. She also said she had learned about being stalked via GPS.
On Aug. 15, Mollow claimed that Caroline “stole” the Ford F-150, apparently as a way of explaining why he was tracking the vehicle by GPS.
On Aug. 22, Ashworth moved out of Mollow’s home and traveled in the Ford to Alabama to “temporarily visit her grandmother,” the suit continued. The next day, Mollow “became so emotionally distraught that he voluntarily committed himself to the Emergency Department at Midstate Medical Center for depression, with homicidal ideations directed specifically against Caroline,” court documents said.
The dentist allegedly self-reported that he was “totally obsessed” with Ashworth, had thoughts about killing her and had the firearms to carry out a killing, and that he was using alcohol and Xanax he got from “off the street.” After being admitted to Midstate Medical on a 15-day involuntary hold and after that hospital informed the Branford Police Department of said hold, officer Robert Iovanna and his supervisor, Sgt. Stanley Konesky, did not seize Mollow’s firearms, as Iovanna believed Caroline was out of state and Mollow was hospitalized, the suit said.
On Aug. 24, however, was moved from Midstate Medical to a psychiatric unit in St. Vincent’s Medical Center pursuant to a Physician’s Emergency Certificate (PEC). While there, Mollow allegedly repeated what he had said earlier about his drug use, depression, and homicidal ideations towards Ashworth — but was discharged just after noon on Aug. 26.
On Aug. 27, around 33 hours after he was discharged, Mollow allegedly stalked Ashworth, tracked her to a condo parking lot in Wethersfield, shot her three times, and took his own life.
As a result, the lawsuit says the Town of Branford should be held liable for the allegedly negligent acts of the police department and the wrongful death of Ashworth. The lawsuit similarly alleged that the St. Vincent’s Medical Center (SVMC Holdings Inc.) should be held liable for carelessly and negligently discharging Mollow before the PEC expired.
“As a further direct and proximate result of the aforementioned conduct of SVMC, Caroline sustained and endured pain, suffering, discomfort and shock to her entire nervous system, prior to her death,” the lawsuit said.
A third count named attorney Christopher Donlin, the administrator of Michael Mollow’s estate, in order to seek damages and common law damages through the litigation.
When reached by Law&Crime, Donlin declined to comment at this time.
St. Vincent’s Medical Center also declined to comment on the lawsuit.
“We are unable to provide comment on pending litigation,” Hartford HealthCare said in response to Law&Crime’s inquiry.
Branford Police Chief Jonathan Mulhern said in a statement to Law&Crime that while he could not comment on the alleged facts of the lawsuit, the department launched an internal affairs probe two days after the murder-suicide, leading to “corrective actions” against Iovanna and Konesky.
“In August of 2022, there was a murder suicide involving Michael Mollow and Caroline Ashworth in Wethersfield. Both individuals were Branford residents, which has now resulted in litigation. Within days of the criminal actions of Michael Mollow, the Branford Police Department conducted an internal investigation to review any prior calls for service involving these parties. Our investigation revealed issues that needed to be addressed and corrective actions were taken by our agency as a result of our investigation,” the police chief said. “Due to the pending litigation, we cannot speak to the facts, circumstances, and complexity of this suit at this time, but these issues will be further addressed in the proper judicial forum.”
Mulhern pledged that his department will “continue our daily efforts to combat domestic violence and provide mental health services to those affected within our community.”
“We remind the public to call police if you, a loved one, or friend fall victim to domestic violence or suffer from a mental health illness. We thank the public for their patience and continued support of our agency at this time,” he said. “The men and women of the Branford Police Department express our condolences to all those impacted by this tragedy.”
The internal affairs investigation into both the officer and the sergeant ended with memoranda of agreement.
The memorandum signed by Iovanna agreed that the officer violated department rules through neglect of duties and investigatory conduct “well below the expected standard of performance for an officer of the Branford Police Department” in the crimes of family violence case.
“You have accepted responsibility and to resolve this disciplinary matter a Memorandum of agreement was executed,” a disciplinary letter from the chief in November 2022 said. Officer Iovanna was suspended for 30 days without pay.
Sgt. Konesky, following the supervisor’s acceptance of responsibility for failing to order Iovanna to investigate the case further and failing to reject his report on the matter, was suspended for three days without pay — with two of those days held in abeyance.
“Contingent on Sergeant Konsesky not committing similar offenses or further neglect of duties, two (2) unpaid suspension days will be in abeyance for one (1) year,” the memorandum of agreement explained.
Kerry Wisser, an attorney for Angela Ashworth, reportedly said the “allegations in the complaint are fairly detailed in support of the claims against each of the three respective defendants.”
Read the lawsuit here.
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