Cindy Hann’s life was shattered last December when she was viciously attacked in a Goleta parking lot, allegedly by the mother of a boy for whom she was serving as a court-appointed supervisor, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month in Santa Barbara Superior Court.
Hann suffered serious injuries on the morning of Dec. 8 when Dr. Theresa Lynn Colosi allegedly struck her multiple times in the face, head and body with a large, metal CO2 canister as part of a plot to kidnap the 12-year-old boy, according to authorities. The boy is identified in court papers only as LG.
Hann alleges in the lawsuit, filed June 5 by Santa Barbara attorney Patrick McCarthy, that she has endured “physical pain, physical injuries, facial scarring, emotional distress, mental suffering and lost earnings.”
She has requested a jury trial and is seeking an undetermined sum of money, for both actual and punitive damages.
She’s also seeking court orders to prevent Colosi from hiding, transferring or disposing of her assets.
According to the lawsuit, on the day of the attack, Hann met Colosi and the boy at a Peet’s coffee shop in Santa Barbara, and Colosi then suggested they go bowling at Zodo’s Bowling and Beyond at 5925 Calle Real in Goleta.
After the three exited Colosi’s vehicle and began walking toward the bowling alley, Colosi told the boy to go back to the car, according to the lawsuit.
“When Hann was looking towards LG, Colosi struck Hann in the head with a large metal cylinder…” the lawsuit alleges. “This caused Hann to turn towards Colosi, at which point Colosi swung the metal canister at Hann again, striking her in the face and lacerating her forehead.”
Hann yelled to the boy to run into Zodo’s to get help while Colosi allegedly continued to batter her with the canister, “striking her several more times in the face, head, right upper arm and back,” according to the lawsuit.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s investigators allege that Colosi, 55, an orthopedic surgeon who practiced in the Bay Area, then fled in her vehicle to the Lompoc Airport, where a private jet she had chartered was waiting to fly her to Glacier International Airport near Kalispell, Montana.
Detectives also learned that prior to the incident at Zodo’s, Colosi gave away her belongings, withdrew $900,000 from her bank accounts, and chartered the flight with fictitious names for herself, her son, and her dog, according to Raquel Zick, sheriff’s public information officer.
Investigators tracked Colosi to Whitefish, Montana, where she was arrested on Dec. 11, and she subsequently was extradited back to Santa Barbara.
After a preliminary hearing in February, Colosi was ordered by Superior Court Judge Michael Carrozzo to stand trial on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted kidnapping of a child, attempted child stealing, and disobeying a domestic-violence court order.
She remains in custody without bail at the Santa Barbara County Jail.
A readiness-and-settlement hearing in the criminal case was held on Monday, with no significant actions taken, according to Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Wesley Meyer.
Another hearing, on a motion by Colosi’s attorney to drop the attempted-murder charge, is scheduled for June 17, Meyer said.
Hann’s lawsuit also alleges that Colosi has taken steps to hide or transfer her assets to avoid having to pay them out in damages to Hann.
The lawsuit asserts that Colosi “fled with some or all of her assets, concealed some or all of her assets, has or will collude and conspire to hide some or all of her assets, (and has) transferred or will transfer some or all of her assets.”
The lawsuit names unknown people — defendants “Does 1 through 20” — who allegedly are colluding and conspiring with Colosi “in an attempt to hinder, deny or prevent Hann from being able to collect payment to compensate her from the injuries and damages she suffered as a result of (Colosi’s) conduct.”
The lawsuit further alleges that Colosi “emptied her bank accounts, fled, and transferred assets, including monetary funds, cashier’s checks, and/or cash” to the unnamed co-defendants.
The lawsuit seeks court orders preventing Colosi and her unnamed co-defendants from “selling, transferring, conveying, assigning, acquiring, obtaining, or otherwise disposing of any of the property (including cash, cashier’s check, and any other financial assets and interests) that is transferred to them, at any time, by Colosi or at her request.”
Additionally, according to Meyer, the Santa Barbara County Department of Child Support Services is attempting to secure a lien against Colosi’s assets — primarily a large amount of cashier’s checks seized by law enforcement when she was arrested — to pay for back child support for her son.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.