The lawsuit Christian Hayes filed Tuesday, Feb. 18, in 3rd District Court alleges Greg Kyle DeBoer, 62, wrongfully killed Patrick Hayes, 61, causing the Hayes family emotional distress.
It asks the court to award Hayes’ survivors over $20 million in damages, including for Hayes’ suffering, his family’s suffering, lost wages and funeral costs.
The fatal road rage shooting occurred around 11 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2024, by the Ross Creek entrance to Jordanelle State Park, near Hayes’ Hideout home.
DeBoer, a Summit County resident, told investigators he shot and killed Hayes in self-defense, and he admitted he buried the gun near his home. He was charged with felony obstruction of justice in December 2024.
However, he was not charged in connection with Hayes’ death. Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby said that’s because investigators didn’t have enough evidence to show DeBoer wasn’t acting in self-defense.
Now, the Hayes family is seeking a different way to hold DeBoer to account.
Attorney Aaron Wilde said his clients want the evidence about Hayes’ death to be presented to a jury.
“The Hayes family has brought forth a wrongful death claim against Mr. DeBoer, and they intend to show with the facts and the evidence that this was a needless killing, and that Mr. DeBoer should be held responsible for that,” he said.
The lawsuit alleges the Browns Canyon resident committed assault and battery following Hayes to the state park and then fatally shooting him.
Security camera footage from the state park shows Hayes get out of his car and walk toward DeBoer’s Jeep. As he approaches, DeBoer accelerates toward Hayes. Hayes can be heard shouting profanities at the driver. Then, a single gunshot.
The lawsuit also claims DeBoer was negligent in how he handled his car and his gun that night.
It says DeBoer intentionally caused Hayes and his family to suffer and “wrongfully and prematurely directly caused [Hayes’] death.”
The lawsuit claims DeBoer knowingly and recklessly broke the law and disregarded Hayes’ rights.
It also contends DeBoer committed fraud by transferring some of his assets. Court papers show that in early January, about two weeks after DeBoer was arrested and charged with obstruction, he transferred the deed to his home to his girlfriend.
A couple of weeks later, DeBoer’s girlfriend transferred the property title to two other people. The lawsuit claims that “each of these transfers was done with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud Mr. DeBoer’s creditors, including [Hayes’] estate and heirs.”
All three are named as additional defendants in the lawsuit.
In total, the attorneys argue Christian Hayes and his family suffered over $20 million in emotional pain, lost wages and expenses due to the death.
This lawsuit follows a judge’s Feb. 10 ruling that named Christian Hayes the representative of his father’s estate.
Meanwhile, DeBoer appeared in 4th District Court Wednesday, Feb. 19, for the obstruction charge. Judge Jennifer Mabey denied a request from attorney Andrew Deesing to remove the ankle monitor DeBoer is required to wear as a condition of his bail.
“The ankle monitor, obviously, is quite expensive. It’s quite uncomfortable – obviously less uncomfortable than jail, we acknowledge – but I wonder at this point,” Deesing said. “The initial shock of this is now worn; I wonder what the ankle monitor really does for the court or the community.”
Mabey said the monitor served a dual purpose – to ensure DeBoer remains in the area and because several people have filed protective orders against since he was charged with obstruction.
“I do think it still serves a purpose: to have both the reassurance that his location can be identified, and that he remains available to the court,” she said.
However, she said she is willing to reevaluate her decision when DeBoer returns to court for a preliminary hearing April 23.
Deesing declined to comment on the new wrongful death lawsuit against his client.
