MISSOURI
KCTV

By DeAnn Smith, Digital Content Manager
By Heather Staggers, Reporter

INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) –
The parents of a boy who committed suicide 30 years ago after he was allegedly abused by a Catholic priest will receive $2.25 million to settle their lawsuit.

Jury selection began Monday in a Jackson County courtroom, and opening arguments were slated to start as soon as Tuesday. The settlement was announced Monday afternoon.

Donald and Rosemary Teeman alleged that their 14-year-old son, Brian, committed suicide in 1983 after repeated abuse by Monsignor Thomas O’Brient at Nativity of Mary Parish in Independence. The parents sued in 2011 after a former altar boy disclosed the repeated abuse, which the now 86-year-old priest denied along with other abuse allegations.

The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph unsuccessfully sought to have the lawsuit thrown out because so much time had passed since the alleged abuse….