MCALLEN, TEXAS: Melissa Banda, a 37-year-old mother of three from Texas, allegedly made nine calls to the police to report her ex-husband in the months before she was abducted and killed. The department is currently being sued by her family for neglecting to protect her.
Banda was discovered dead in August 2020, with her body abandoned on the side of a country road in Donna, Texas, under some bushes; her throat had been slit.
Cynthia, her sister, has filed a lawsuit against the City of McAllen, claiming that despite several calls to the McAllen Police Department between November 2019 and August 2020, officers "did almost nothing to protect her," per Daily Mail.
The complaint, which was initially filed in August 2022, was transferred on Friday, October 13, from state court to federal court in McAllen.
According to the lawsuit, Banda's sister Cynthia is requesting compensatory damages and a reasonable attorney's fee.
The lawsuit also claims that the police department had "a policy or custom of treating domestic violence cases involving women and/or Hispanic women less seriously than other types of assault cases."
What happened to Melissa Banda in August 2020?
The mother, 37, was allegedly kidnapped on August 6, 2020, by 40-year-old Richard Ford; the next day, at approximately 11.30 pm, her body was found in a rural part of Hidalgo County.
The sheriff of Hidalgo County, JE Eddie Guerra, tweeted that Banda, a resident of McAllen, had been discovered dead on August 7, 2020, in a remote area of the county.
Guerra tweeted that police "discovered her lifeless body east of FM 493 on Mile 14 1/2 N. HCSO Major Crimes Unit will take lead on the Capital Murder Investigation."
Reportedly, on November 7, 2019, Banda received a temporary restraining order and filed for divorce from Ford.
After receiving divorce papers, Ford went to Banda's home fourteen days later, and Banda called the police in McAllen to ask for protection from Ford.
According to the lawsuit, Ford became increasingly violent as observed by a string of phone conversations in 2020.
Who was arrested for the murder of Melissa Banda?
Banda's ex-husband, 40-year-old Richard Ford Jr, was detained and charged in relation to her murder. He allegedly grabbed her and "covered her mouth as she began to kick and scream" before shoving her into the back of a white SUV.
Ford, however, was detained late on August 6, 2020, when witnesses claimed to have seen him dragging his ex-wife into the vehicle. On August 8, 2020, authorities charged him with aggravated kidnapping.
Hours after McAllen police said they were looking for Banda, Cameron County law enforcement apparently discovered Ford close to Beach Access 5 on South Padre Island.
It was also revealed that Banda allegedly had a restraining order against Ford and had charged him with breaking it on June 30, 2020, after he called her.
According to the lawsuit, Ford was accused of violating a protective order involving stalking, capital murder by terroristic threat while engaging in aggravated kidnapping, assault on a family member by obstructing breath, and stalking.
Additionally, it claimed that McAllen PD was aware of another case Ford was associated with. Ford allegedly admitted guilty in 2002 to the assault of one victim and to the attempted murder of another man.
Why did Melissa Banda's family file lawsuit blaming the cops?
Banda's sister Cynthia Banda accused the City of McAllen in a lawsuit, obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that despite several requests for assistance, the McAllen Police Department failed to safeguard her sister.
The McAllen Police Department has been charged with neglecting to address a number of complaints made by Banda in the months preceding the homicide.
Banda allegedly called the department from November 2019 until her death in August 2020, and the "McAllen Police Department did almost nothing to protect her," claimed the lawsuit.
Valley Central claimed that Banda repeatedly complained to the police about Ford, including in the late months of 2019 and in the months of February, April, June, July, and August 2020, before her slaying.
According to the lawsuit, Banda called the police at least once in February 2020 to report that Ford had abused her and broken the terms of her protective order.
The lawsuit further claimed she told police Ford choked her "impeding her breathing" while assaulting her and threatened to harm their children.
Following this call, Ford was detained the following day and released the day after, the lawsuit claimed.
According to the lawsuit, on June 8, 2020, Banda reported that Ford had been stalking her while she was at a Gold's Gym in McAllen by making multiple calls to the police.
Banda filed for divorce and got a temporary protective order. Ford is accused of harassing Banda for months before the divorce was officially finalized in April 2020.
He visited her house for the final time on record following a court session intended to change the divorce decision.
The matter was scheduled to be heard in court on August 6, 2020. Banda's body was discovered on the side of a road two days after Ford visited her house.
The lawsuit claimed: "(He) pulled up, approached Melissa Banda from behind, forcefully grabbed her, and covered her mouth as she began to kick and scream."
"(Ford) wrestled Melissa Banda into the back of a white SUV. Hearing her screams, Melissa Banda’s nanny and neighbors immediately called the authorities and explained that (Ford) had kidnapped Melissa Banda."
The lawsuit claimed that the McAllen Police Department reported Banda missing the following day. It also claimed that despite knowing about Ford's violations of the protection order, the local police took no action.
