The suit was filed earlier this summer by Katherine Throckmorton and Ricardo Parisot against a Wilton couple whose son they allege tied the rope; it claims damages in excess of $15,000.
On Sept. 4, defendants Barbara and Glenn Knight, of 97 Hickory Road, Wilton, filed an answer to the complaint denying all allegations. Their attorney, Kevin Murphy, of Bridgeport, did not return calls seeking comment.
The complaint filed by Parisot's attorney, David Golub, said that a private investigation places blame for the fatal accident on the Knights' 12-year-old son.
James Bernardi, supervisory assistant state's attorney in Stamford, said that a criminal investigation of the death is still ongoing and no arrests have been made.
Bernardi said investigators could obtain any depositions or other publicly available information turned up during the civil case for use in a future criminal proceeding.
Golub said that depositions with Barbara and Glenn Knight, their 12-year-old son and his brother have been scheduled for later this month.
On June 13, 2008, Nicholas Parisot was riding his Honda dirt bike on a North Wilton trail when he struck a rope, which police believe was intentionally tied across the path. A rope was seized at the scene, along with other evidence, police said soon after the accident.
In what police call a criminal homicide, Parisot died of his neck injuries suffered on the trail.
Parisot's parents said his death was caused by negligence because the Knights should have known their son was placing "traps" on the trail and failed to supervise their son's activities, the complaint said.
Golub said that his investigation of the incident was wide-ranging.
"We conducted an investigation of many different sources, including people who had info about what happened and people who had spoken to the Knights. We were aware of the info from Wilton police. We also met with police and prosecutors, and from all those sources, we put together the information that is in the complaint," Golub said.
In the complaint, Golub said Nicholas and other youths for years had ridden the trails in a wooded property next to the Knights' Hickory Road home.
He said the Knights' son knew that and "decided to set a trap across the trail."
On June 11, the Knights' son and a friend took a rope from his home and tied over the trail between two trees behind his family's house, the complaint states. The two took the rope down when no one passed by.
Two days later, the Knights' son, this time alone, tied the rope between the trees, according to the complaint, Parisot was riding on the trail and suffered the fatal injuries.
After the accident, the complaint said the Knights' son picked up one piece of the rope that was severed during the incident and took it away. Police have said they found another length of rope at the scene.
When he was interviewed by police, the 12-year-old tried to conceal his involvement by giving false statements about his actions with the rope on June 11 and 13, the complaint said.
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