Goth rocker Marilyn Manson, known for offending folks with his raunchy antics and death-filled music, has managed to upset Maria St. John so much she’s suing.
On Tuesday, in Los Angeles Superior Court, St. John–the mother of Jennifer Syme, who died in a car crash last April–filed a lawsuit against Manson for “instructing [Syme] to operate a motor vehicle in her incapacitated condition,” MTV.com reports.
St. John seeks unspecified damages and attorney’s fees.
According to the lawsuit, Brian Warner (Manson‘s given name) hosted a party on April 1, 2001, that 28-year-old Syme and others attended. Just before dawn, a fellow party-goer drove Syme home, and it was then that Syme got into her own vehicle, a 1999 Jeep Cherokee. The lawsuit claims she intended to return to Manson‘s party.
Manson, however, does not accept responsibility for Syme’s death.
“After Jennifer was sent home safely with a designated driver, she later got behind the wheel of her own car for reasons known only to her. Her death is sad and tragic,” Manson said in a statement Wednesday.
An investigation into the accident concluded that an inebriated Syme, while driving without a seatbelt in Hollywood, crashed into three parked cars and was ejected from her vehicle. She died at the scene the morning of April 2.
MTV.com also reports that police findings at the scene included two rolled-up dollar bills that contained a white, powdery substance and two bottles of prescription drugs, a muscle relaxant and an anticonvulsant.
St. John told police her daughter sought treatment for back pain and depression just a few days prior to her death.
Syme, who was not unfamiliar with celebrity circles, had dated actor Keanu Reeves and bore his stillborn child in December 1999. She also had a small role in Lost Highway. Director David Lynch dedicated his film Mulholland Drive to Syme.
Pallbearers at Syme’s funeral were Reeves, Lynch and rocker Dave Navarro.
