A teenager who sued Boynton Beach and one of its police officers last year over the 2023 killing of her mother, but whose case was dismissed, is suing again.
Abigail Orelien, 19, representing the estate of her late mother Fridelene Daniel, refiled a wrongful death lawsuit on Sept. 17 against the city and Officer Jermaine Jones that she originally filed on Oct. 30, 2025. The dismissal allowed her to file again.
The suit now claims Jones' actions triggered Daniel's killing at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Robens Cesar, now 44, on Nov. 8, 2023, shortly after she came to the city's main police station to tell officers that Cesar was stalking her and had threatened to kill her. Daniel was 34.
In the police station lobby, with Cesar hovering around
her, Daniel tried to tell Jones that Cesar had a gun. But Jones mocked Daniel, the lawsuit claims, asking if the Haitian woman was saying "gum," trivializing the situation by telling Cesar, “She don’t want it no more. You can’t fix this. You've got to find you a new boo. Work on a new relationship."
Those claims, which came from a police internal-affairs investigation following the incident, were not in the original lawsuit.
Also new in this lawsuit is a report from another internal-affairs investigation showing that, after Jones dismissed Daniel following a six-minute conversation, another officer's body camera captured him saying in the presence of a trainee, "We ran them off. We told them to get the f*** out of here."
The lawsuit's new claims against Jones contend that he put Daniel's life in danger when he broke state laws requiring that he write a police report detailing her allegations and why he let Cesar go.
State law also required Jones to inform Daniel of her rights to file a criminal complaint with the State Attorney's Office and to seek a restraining order against Cesar, the lawsuit claims. Jones also was required to inform her about state-approved organizations for domestic violence victims.
"Instead of de-escalating the situation, this officer aggravated it," said Gary Susser, Orelien's lawyer.
City Attorney Shawna Lamb declined to comment.
Cesar allegedly killed Daniel less than one hour later at the Meadows on the Green condominium complex off Congress Avenue, where she lived. Police arrested him and charged him with first-degree murder.
Cesar reportedly told officers that Daniel reporting him to police was the "final straw."
Cesar remains in the West County Jail in Belle Glade awaiting trial.
Orelien's lawsuit originally contended that Jones failed to live up to the duty of protecting Daniel. But in his ruling Aug. 21, County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Keyser sided with the city's argument that Jones could not be held liable for Daniel's death because he had no legal duty to protect her since he made no such promise.
Keyser retired Aug. 31. Orelien's case now awaits a hearing before Circuit Judge Danielle Sherriff.
A separate negligence lawsuit Orelien filed in July 2025 against Meadows on the Green remains before the courts.
Email Palm Beach Post reporter Chris Persaud at cpersaud@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Daughter sues Boynton police again in mother's 2023 fatal shooting
