Former Football Player Brian Urlacher Sued

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Tyna Karageorge, the mother of Brian Urlacher’s 12-year-old son, filed a lawsuit against the former Bears player, claiming he made statements about her being an unfit mother and a murderer.

Karageorge, said that she hasn’t had custody of her son Kennedy since after her husband, Ryan Karageorge, died on Dec. 29, 2016. She told police that he grabbed a gun out of her purse and shot himself during an argument. His death was later ruled a suicide.

Urlacher filed an emergency motion in a Cook County courtroom shortly after the incident because he was concerned about the safety of his son. He intervened after Karageorge’s husband died and cited “suspicious circumstances” he believes surrounded the incident in court documents. The judge granted him temporary custody.

“This is an unfortunate situation, but my main concern is the best interests of my son,” Urlacher said. “Given that the death by gunshot occurred during an argument in Tyna’s home, and is under investigation by the police and there is likely to be media reporting and coverage, the environment with Tyna is a serious endangerment to the child’s mental, moral or physical health, and if the child is required to return to Tyna’s care, it will significantly impair his emotional development,” he added.

Urlacher and Karageorge have shared custody of their son since he was born. Kennedy spent a large portion of his time off from school at Urlacher’s home in Arizona.

Karageorge said in separate custody hearing that her son should be living with her in Willow Springs, not with Urlacher in Arizona.

“From the get go, I’ve told them that I had nothing to do with my husband’s death. And they grabbed Kennedy and took him to Arizona. And it’s a horrible situation,” she said.

Karageorge claims he and his lawyer tried to persuade the public into thinking she killed her husband in order to get full custody.

“My life has been ruined by what transpired,” Karageorge said. “People perceive me as a murderer even to this date.”
Karageorge is demanding $100 million in punitive damages and $25 million in compensatory damages. Urlacher’s lawyer, Donald Schiller, challenged her claims against the ex-football star and said the lawsuit is “essentially a reiteration of false statements, twisting facts and quotes out of context that she has claimed and filed in Court proceedings all during the case. None were found to have merit.”

To hear more about legal cases making the news, including Roy Moore’s sexual abuse defamation lawsuit, read more on Cohen & Cohen.