CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., April 20 (UPI) -- Missouri beer tycoon August Busch IV is offering to pay $1.5 million over the fatal drug overdose of his girlfriend at his mansion, court records show.
Busch's proposed settlement with Dr. Kevin Martin, ex-husband of Adrienne Martin, was filed Friday in court in Cape Girardeau, Mo., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.
Martin's suit charges Busch with negligence and seeks damages for his 8-year-old son, Blake.
If Judge William Syler decides the deal is in the child's interest, he could allocate some of the proceeds to Adrienne Martin's parents.
Busch's attorney, Maurice Graham, told the Post-Dispatch Tuesday there is no admission of negligence.
"Mr. Busch has made a decision to put this behind him and to avoid lengthy litigation, but most importantly, to help Blake Martin," he said.
Adrienne Martin's father, George Eby, is seeking to join the suit. Christine Trampler, her mother, has said she will seek custody of Blake.
Authorities ruled Adrienne Martin's Dec. 19 death in Busch's Huntleigh, Mo., mansion an accident, and the autopsy listed an overdose of the painkiller oxycodone as the cause.
Busch was chief executive of Anheuser-Busch before it was sold to InBev. The sale earned him about $100 million.
