Court backs family's lawsuit blaming Home Depot for death of pregnant employee, 21, who was strangled then raped by her supervisor 

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A court has backed a family lawsuit which blames Home Depot for the death of a employee who was killed then raped by her supervisor while she was seven months pregnant.

Brian Cooper, 39, is serving two life sentences for killing Alisha Bromfield, 21, and her unborn baby at his sister's wedding in Wisconsin in 2012.

The pair worked together for six years at Home Depot in Plainfield, Illinois. 

Cooper was not the baby's father but he was infatuated with Alisha and regularly referred to her as his girlfriend despite her rebuking his advances.

Bromfield's family say he forced her to attend the wedding, threatening to fire her if she did not go with him. She reported him to management beforehand for abusing her at work but he was allowed to keep his job. 

Brian Cooper, 39, strangled Alisha Bromfield in 2012 while she was seven months pregnant with another man's baby then raped her corpse. They worked together for six years at Home Depot where her family says staff saw him abuse her 

The man was drunk when he strangled her to death before raping her. He was convicted of double murder and third degree sexual assault. 

It is not clear whether they were ever involved romantically. After he murdered her, Cooper called 911 calling her his girlfriend. 

In 2014, Bromfield's mother Sherry Anicich filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Home Depot and two other companies (Grand Service, LLC, and Grand Flower Growers, Inc.) which managed the garden center where the pair worked. 

The suit claims that they were jointly responsibly for Alisha's death because they failed to fire Cooper despite being aware of his abusive nature.

Alisha's family say co-workers saw her crying after she was harassed by Cooper but did nothing 

The suit was thrown out at district court but the victim's family appealed and it was revived this week by a panel of judges who said fellow staff should have seen the tragedy coming after witnessing how he abused her. 

'Anyone who saw Cooper, for example, “throwing and slamming items in the garden center and … parking lot while screaming obscenities,” could have easily concluded that Cooper either was dangerous because he had lost control of himself or was trying to frighten Alisha.' 

Citing other cases where workers have been murdered by their supervisors after out-of-work harassment, the panel ruled: 'Every life lost to brutality is unique, each family’s hell a private one. 

'We do not diminish that truth when we repeat that Alisha’s story is an old story that has been told too many times. Its ending is both shocking and predictable. Alisha’s family is entitled to try to prove its truth.' 

The lawsuit also describes how he harassed and abused her at work for years before the murder. 

'Cooper’s behavior toward female subordinates in general and Alisha in particular was known to more senior management. 

'Throughout her time working for the defendants, Alisha complained repeatedly about Cooper to other supervisors and managers in the defendants’ hierarchies. She told her group leader that she did not want to be left alone with him,' it said. 

Another manager allegedly saw her crying after he refused her a lunch break and another even sent him home after witnessing him call her names in front of customers, it claims.

Her family is now suing the company for the wrongful deaths of Alisha and her unborn baby

Alisha had already named her unborn daughter Ava. She would have survived if delivered but died in as her mother was killed then raped

'He would call her his girlfriend. He started swearing and yelling at her, calling her names like “b****,” “sl*t” and “whore” in front of customers. These outbursts came to include throwing and slamming things.' 

In addition to harassing her at work, the lawsuit alleges that he tried to control how she spent free time.

He even tricked her into coming with him on business trips where he forced her to share a room with him. 

'If she was going to spend a lunch break with a man, he sometimes denied her lunch breaks. Once, when she asked him for a day off, he called her a “whore.” 

'He started calling and texting her outside of work, pretending he wanted to talk about a work‐related issue in order to get her attention, to monitor her, and to pressure her to spend time with him alone,' it said. 

After another employee saw him calling her names, Cooper was made to take anger management classes but continued to work as Alisha's supervisor.  

The pair had been working together for six years when Alisha fell pregnant with another man's child in 2012. 

Cooper 'reacted angrily' and later forced her to join him at his sister's wedding in Wisconsin, threatening to cut her hours or fire her if she didn't. 

The pair were at Cooper's wedding in Wisconsin, which he had forced Bromfield to attend, when he killed her. They were staying at this resort 

She agreed reluctantly, traveling out of state with him to the wedding where he had booked them a hotel room to share. 

They attended the wedding where he drank heavily before returning to the room together where he pleaded with her to be in a relationship with him. 

She refused and fell asleep but he stayed up and continued drinking. In the early hours of the morning, he woke her up to strangle her. 

After killing her, he undressed and raped her before fleeing the hotel. He tried unsuccessfully to kill himself with a butter knife and corkscrew then turned himself in to police. 

He later told detectives that Alisha, who planned to call her unborn daughter Ava, pleaded for the baby's life while she was being murdered. 

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for Alisha's family. 

Home Depot said it was considering its legal options which included a possible appeal. 'First and foremost, our sympathy is with (Bromfield's) family,' spokesman Stephen Holmes said.