Parents file wrongful death suit against stepfather of son's fiance over his 2012 beating

A man who was convicted of battery earlier this summer after being cleared of murder charges in the 2012 death of his stepdaughter's fiance is now facing a wrongful death lawsuit.

Slavko and Mira Zigic, individually and as co-special administrators of the Estate of Bojan Zigic, filed suit Aug. 18 in the Cook County Circuit Court, claiming their son died a few days after being hit in the head by Carl Spoeri during a dispute.

According to the complaint, Spoeri instigated an argument with 26-year-old Bojan on Aug. 20, 2012, when he hit him in the face repeatedly.

The Zigics claim Bojan stumbled after he was hit, struck his head on a car bumper and fell to the ground before being taken to Loyola University Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and died three days later.

Spoeri is accused of wrongful death and willful, wanton and reckless conduct.

Although not mentioned in the complaint, a July 14 article identifies Spoeri as the stepfather of Bojan's finance, Erica Spoeri, and the grandfather of the Bojan and Erica's 3-month-old son.

According to the same article, Spoeri was charged with first-degree murder in September 2012 for Bojan's death, but was cleared of those charges after a bench trial in July, when a judge convicted him of misdemeanor battery.

The Zigics are seeking damages and are being represented in the case by attorney John R. Ostojic of Ostojic & Scudder LLC in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L008625.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.