The Region - News from Oct. 25, 1985

The parents of a 23-year-old Las Vegas woman who was raped and shot to death by a California Highway Patrol officer have filed a $114-million lawsuit against the officer, the CHP and three officials, the victim’s father said. Merlin Bishop and his wife, June, of Cedar City, Utah, claim in their San Bernardino County Superior Court suit that the CHP was negligent in allowing George Gwaltney, 43, of Barstow to remain on the force when they knew of his “womanizing tendencies.” Gwaltney, the first CHP officer ever charged with murder while on duty, was convicted in May, 1984, on federal charges of violating Robin L. Bishop’s civil rights by forcing her to have sex with him and then killing her on a deserted stretch of Interstate 15 near Barstow. Gwaltney, who was sentenced to 90 years in prison, was tried twice in California state courts on first-degree murder charges, but both trials ended in hung juries.