A Palm Beach County court has dismissed a young woman's lawsuit against Boynton Beach and one of its police officers that accused them of failing to protect her mother from an ex-boyfriend who she warned would kill her.
Abigail Orelien, 19, representing the estate of her late mother Fridelene Daniel, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in October 2025 against the city and officer Jermaine Jones.
Daniel told officers in the city's police station on Nov. 8, 2023, that Robens Cesar, her ex-boyfriend who followed her into the building, had stalked her and threatened to kill her. Police did nothing, the suit alleged, and Cesar killed her that day at her condominium complex.
Ruling allows woman to file new lawsuit in mother's death in Boynton
County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Keyser ruled on Friday, Aug. 21, that while law
enforcement has a duty to protect the public, he agreed 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's dismissal allows for Orelien to file another complaint, Her lawyer, Delray Beach-based Gary Susser, has said he will file one by the Sept. 17 deadline Keyser imposed.
A Boynton Beach Police Department internal investigation concluded in April 2024 that Jones failed in multiple ways to investigate Daniel's case.
Jones took no statement from Daniel, nor did he give her information on domestic abuse shelters that could help her, the investigation found.
When Daniel left after their six-minute conversation, the internal investigation said, Jones told another officer, in the presence of a BBPD trainee, "We ran them off. We told them to get the (expletive) outta here." Jones was suspended for 100 hours.
Cesar was arrested Nov. 8, 2023, and charged with first-degree murder. The 44-year-old is in the West County Jail in Belle Glade awaiting trial.
A separate negligence lawsuit that Orelien filed in July 2025 against her mother's Boynton Beach condominium complex, Meadows on the Green, remains before the courts.
If you have new information or tips on this article or others, email Chris Persaud at cpersaud@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Judge dismisses suit in Boynton mom's death but allows teen to refile
