Danny Ray Fuston was a low-level criminal just out of an Oklahoma prison and looking to start a new life in Minnesota. Through a temporary labor agency, he found some outdoor work hacking weeds for a 74-year-old widow in Bloomington.
That June day in 2014 went so well she invited him back for a second day of work. The woman, Marlene Gronholz, even made Fuston lunch and sat with him in her kitchen, where Minnesota Nice met Oklahoma Evil.
Fuston, a car thief and repeat drunken driver who twice escaped from custody, returned the kindness by clubbing Gronholz over the head with a coffee mug. He dragged her into another room, kicked her for good measure, then slit her throat.
Hoping to eliminate evidence, Fuston cleaned the knife and put it away, leaving Gronholz to die. He stole the woman's car, picked up his check from the temp agency, AAA Labor, then did what any aspiring murderer might do: He went to a Twins game.
Except Gronholz didn't die. She woke up and called for help. Normally a careful woman, she had installed a security camera in her house, and it captured the horrific crime in full. Fuston pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Last year, Gronholz sued the temp agency for vicarious liability, negligent hiring and negligent supervision. A couple of weeks ago, a jury sided with the company on the first matter, but decided in Gronholz's favor on the second two counts, awarding her $5.58 million for her pain and suffering.
The judgment against the company comes at a time when a cross section of politicians, from President Obama down to the Minnesota Legislature, have moved to eliminate employment applications that ask potential employees to reveal their criminal history. Numerous studies show that disclosing felonies is a significant hurdle to employment for ex-cons.
Minnesota passed a law in 2014 that prohibits employers, with some exemptions, from asking about crimes. In this case, AAA did ask Fuston about his history because it could have gotten tax credits for hiring recently released convicts. Fuston lied.