Marine widow cleared of murdering husband files federal civil lawsuit

Marine widow cleared of killing husband files suit

SAN DIEGO — A widow cleared of murdering her Marine husband has filed a $20 million lawsuit in San Diego, alleging her constitutional and civil rights were violated.

The suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, names the federal government and the San Diego County medical examiner’s office and district attorney’s office, among others.

Cynthia Sommer spent more than two years in jail, charged with poisoning her 23-year-old husband to cash in on his military death benefit. She was convicted in 2007 but a year later was granted a new trial.

The government dropped its case in April 2008 when new tests showed no arsenic in Todd Sommer’s preserved tissue.

Cynthia Sommer says her goal in bringing the suit is to make sure “this doesn’t happen to other people.”