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Slain Woman's Daughter Files Paternity Suit

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - The teenage daughter of Paula M. O'Conner, who was found strangled in July, has filed a lawsuit against a sergeant at MacDill Air Force Base to determine whether he is the father of O'Conner's infant son, who was found asphyxiated alongside her.

The daughter, Victoria Goodin, 18, wants Ralph Wright Jr. to pay retroactive child support for Alijah Jordon O'Conner from July 2005, when the boy was conceived, to July 6, when he was found dead with his mother at their home in St. Petersburg, according to a copy of the suit.

She also wants Wright to reimburse her mother's estate for all or a portion of the more than $357,000 in medical bills her mother was held responsible for while tending to Alijah's medical needs, the suit says. He had heart surgery at least once.

Before she died, O'Conner had filed a paternity suit against Wright. To determine whether he is Alijah's father, a judge would have to order him to provide DNA, which would then be compared with Alijah's DNA, said John E. Tuthill, Goodin's attorney.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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