Judge says Young killed wife

Husband not charged with a crime

RALEIGH -- A judge in a civil suit has ruled that Jason Young killed his wife, Michelle.

The ruling in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Michelle Young's mother was signed Friday by Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens.

"It is, therefore, ordered, adjudged and decreed that the Defendant, Jason Lynn Young, willfully and unlawfully killed Plaintiff's decedent, Michelle Marie Fisher Young," Stephens wrote.

Jason Young has not been charged with a crime in his wife's death, but numerous search warrants indicate that detectives have focused their investigation on him.

Michelle Young's body was found in her Wake County home on Nov. 3, 2006. The couple's daughter, Cassidy, then 2, was unharmed but left bloody footprints in the house.

The slain woman's mother, Linda Fisher of Sayville, N.Y., filed the wrongful death suit in late October, accusing her son-in-law of killing her daughter. Fisher asked that all of Michelle Young's assets and life insurance payouts go to the couple's daughter.

Jason Young didn't respond to the lawsuit in the 30 days allowed by law, leading to Stephens' ruling. But his inaction also meant he didn't have to answer questions about his wife's death in a deposition, something for which Fisher and her lawyers had hoped.

Judge Stephens also barred Jason Young from collecting any of his wife's life insurance or benefitting from her estate.

Jason Young was the beneficiary of a life insurance policy covering his wife, and had an ongoing relationship with a married woman in Florida when his wife was killed, according to investigators' search warrants.

In documents connected to the case, sheriff's investigators have reported that Jason Young's computer was used to search the Internet on topics including "anatomy of a knockout," "head trauma knockout," and "divorce" before his wife was found dead.

Stephens' ruling also says that a Wake sheriff's investigator believes Jason Young murdered his wife.

Stephens wrote that affidavits by Investigator R.C. Spivey III say he is familiar with evidence that hasn't become public. "Based upon his knowledge of the evidence gathered in the investigation of the death of Michelle Young and his experience in law enforcement, Investigator Spivey is of the opinion that Jason Young murdered Michelle Young on November 3, 2006."

A spokeswoman for Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison declined to discuss that finding. "We're not commenting on that," said Phyllis Stephens.

Child possibly drugged

In the ongoing criminal investigation, a search warrant made public Friday indicates that investigators suspected the Youngs' toddler daughter was drugged with an over-the-counter medication at the time her mother was killed.

A judge granted the warrant, which allowed investigators to obtain a cheek swab from Cassidy.

The swab would have allowed investigators to obtain Cassidy's DNA and determine whether it matched DNA on a medicine dropper at the crime scene. The dropper had residue from liquid extra-strength Tylenol.

The document, made public Friday after a judge unsealed it, does not indicate whether investigators obtained a DNA match.

"Due to the location of the Tylenol and the dropper, it is believed that the medication was delivered to Cassidy Young," Wake sheriff's investigators said in an application for the warrant. "It is further believed that the medication was delivered to the child under the mistaken belief that it would cause drowsiness.

"Once the child was asleep, the perpetrator would have been able to commit or continue their attack without worrying about interference from the child," the application said.

The warrant was obtained July 26, 2007 -- more than half a year after Michelle Young was found dead.

The same day her mother was discovered, Cassidy was found by her aunt unharmed under the sheets of her mother's bed, the application said.

"This description is in contrast to the small, bloodied footprints that were found on the floor of the child's bathroom," the application said.

Records made public this week showed that sheriff's investigators are searching an e-mail account that belongs to Jason Young. Investigators seized items from the Yahoo account, but the details have not been made public.