Mom who bought guns for suspected-killer son to pay $400,000

This Dec. 25, 2012, photo taken by Andrew Wiegardt, left, shows him with his brother, Nick Wiegardt as they pose with their mother, Kirsten Englund. Three years ago, Jeffrey Boyce shot and killed Englund at a scenic overlook on the Oregon coast, using one of three weapons purchased by his mother. Boyce's mother has agreed to pay $400,000 to Englund's family and to assist them in their lawsuit against two gun dealers. (Andrew Wiegardt via AP) less This Dec. 25, 2012, photo taken by Andrew Wiegardt, left, shows him with his brother, Nick Wiegardt as they pose with their mother, Kirsten Englund. Three years ago, Jeffrey Boyce shot and killed Englund at a ... more Photo: Andrew Wiegardt, Associated Press Photo: Andrew Wiegardt, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Mom who bought guns for suspected-killer son to pay $400,000 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The family of a Castro Valley woman who was shot to death at a highway rest stop in Oregon in 2013 said Thursday that it had reached a $400,000 settlement with the murder suspect’s mother, who bought guns for her mentally disturbed son.

Kirsten Englund, 57, a retired accountant who was traveling north to visit relatives, was killed April 28, 2013, as she stood at an ocean outlook alongside U.S. 101 west of Eugene. Her sister said Englund was shot by a stranger, Jeffrey Boyce, who then poured gasoline on her, set her on fire and shot her again.

Police said Boyce, 30, of North Bend, Ore., phoned his mother the next day to say he was driving south to seek political asylum at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco. He later stole a man’s car at gunpoint in Rohnert Park, then ditched that car and tried to steal a Mill Valley woman’s truck in Greenbrae before being arrested, police said.

Nearly two months later, Boyce hanged himself with a sheet in the Marin County Jail.

The suit by Englund’s sister and two sons in an Oregon court accused Diane Boyce of acting as a straw buyer to purchase a fully automatic AK-47 rifle and two handguns online in 2011 and 2012 for her son, who was barred from owning firearms because he had a criminal record. He used at least one of the handguns to shoot Englund, the suit said.

Englund’s family also sued J&G Sales, the online retailer that sold the handguns, and World Pawn Exchange, the Oregon pawnshop where Diane Boyce allegedly picked them up. The suit accused the companies of ignoring warning signs of illegal straw purchases, including what the family described as writings from Jeffrey Boyce, viewed by both the retailer and the pawnshop, saying he was the actual buyer.

Englund’s family said Thursday that Diane Boyce had agreed to pay $400,000 and provide documents and testimony in the family’s case against the gun sellers.

“Had these gun sellers followed the law, these sales would not have happened and Kirsten Englund would not have suffered a brutal death,” Linda Singer, a lawyer for the family, said in a statement.

When the suit was filed in January, Courthouse News Service quoted Jeremy Reed, a World Pawn Exchange manager, as saying he remembered selling at least one of the guns to Diane Boyce and denying there were any warning signals. Reed said that Boyce told him the gun was for her own use and said that she passed a background check.

But the suit said the pawnshop had received an invoice from J&G Sales that identified Jeffrey Boyce as the purchaser. Jeffrey Boyce bought all three guns in his own name and had them shipped to World Pawn Exchange for pickup, the suit said.

The suit also said the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had identified numerous straw purchasers in J&G Sales records during inspections in 2009 and 2012. And although federal law prohibits buying guns for someone else, J&G Sales’ website falsely declares that parents can legally buy firearms for their children, the suit said.

A World Pawn Exchange representative declined to comment Thursday, and J&G Sales said no one was available for comment.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko