The family of a retired California auditor killed at a scenic view on the southern Oregon coast has filed a lawsuit against the gun dealers who allegedly sold the weapon used in the slaying.

Kirsten Englund, 57, of Castro Valley was on her way to visit family in Eugene when she stopped along U.S. 101 in Douglas County in April 2013 to view a lighthouse, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

"The circumstances of our mother's shooting make her death even harder for us to bear," Andrew Weigardt, one of Englund's two sons, said. "She was shot and killed by someone who had no business possessing a gun."

Police identified Jeffrey Boyce, 30, of North Bend as the prime suspect in the case. He was arrested in Northern California after allegedly carjacking a man at gunpoint. He later hanged himself in the Marin County Jail.

Without a criminal trial, "bringing this case is somewhat important in discovering the facts of everything that happened and why exactly these guns ended up in his hand," said Nicholas Weigardt, Andrew's brother.

At the time of Englund's death, authorities said Boyce also was believed to be a Boston bombing sympathizer who had been trying to reach the Russian consulate in San Francisco to seek asylum. His mother called police to warn them that her son was mentally ill and had been raving that the government was out to get him, according to news accounts.

Englund was shot six times and her body burned. She didn't know Boyce, the suit said. A couple discovered her body in blackberry bushes at the Winchester Bay Wayfinding Point on Highway 101 about 3 miles south of Reedsport near the historic Umpqua Lighthouse.

Jeffrey Boyce

The lawsuit alleges North Bend's World Pawn Exchange and Arizona-based J&G II, Inc. sold the weapons to Diane Boyce, the suspect's mother. The lawsuit claims Diane Boyce acted as a straw purchaser who bought three weapons on behalf of her son.

The lawsuit alleges that Diane Boyce filled federal paperwork that she was the actual buyer of an AK-47 and two semi-automatic pistols in 2011 and 2012 and her son used his credit card to pay for one of the pistols.

The owner of World Pawn Exchange couldn't be immediately reached for comment. A representative of J&G declined to comment.

Police said a truck that Boyce was driving before the carjacking contained more than 200 rounds of assault rifle-style bullets and a loaded .22-caliber rifle.

"A burglar is responsible for robbing a home, but so is the home security company that carelessly or negligently installed a deficient security system," said Weigardt's attorney Tom D'Amore. "This lawsuit alleges that the gun dealer defendants were negligent in ignoring red flags regarding multiple fire arm sales over a period of months."

-- Tony Hernandez

thernandez@oregonian.com

503-294-5928

@tonyhreports