The widow of an attorney killed in a 2008 hit-and-run in Roanoke County has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the man charged with first-degree murder in her husband's death.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Roanoke County Circuit Court on behalf of Thomas Farrell's estate accuses Jeffery Martin Young of killing Farrell through negligence.

Farrell, 49, was hit and killed Jan. 28, 2008, while on a morning jog in Southwest Roanoke County. Young's trial on the murder charge is scheduled to begin April 15. His attorney, Neil Horn, has indicated he will argue that his client is not guilty by reason of insanity.

The lawsuit also names "John Doe" as an alternate defendant. Filing a suit against "John Doe" is a common strategy in lawsuits arising from hit-and-run cases where the identity of the driver is unknown or can't be proven, usually aiming to collect from the victim's underinsured motorist coverage.

Richmond attorney Aubrey Bowles, who brought the suit on behalf of Farrell's wife, Connie Farrell, declined to comment Friday.

Horn said he had not yet seen the lawsuit. "With a criminal case pending, I cannot comment on any civil cases," he said.

Two days after Farrell's death, Young, 31, was arrested and charged in Floyd County with hitting a woman with a vehicle and then attacking her with a stick outside Slaughters' Supermarket.

Not long after, Roanoke County investigators linked a white Jeep Wrangler Young was known to drive to the fatal hit-and-run. The jeep was found at a towing company's lot in Roanoke and had front-end damage, according to court documents.

Young's trial on the malicious wounding charge in Floyd County is scheduled for March 24. His defense attorney in that case, Fred Kellerman, also intends to mount an insanity defense.

Court records obtained by The Roanoke Times through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act show that Young has a history of schizophrenia and paranoia.

Horn said Friday that he and Kellerman are working together to investigate Young's history. The defense attorneys are "finding quite a bit to support our position," he said.

"He was not sane at the time of the offense."

Horn also has asked for Young's trial to be moved from Roanoke County because of the intense media coverage of the case.

Franklin County Circuit Court Judge William Alexander is presiding over the case after the Roanoke County judges removed themselves. Alexander has yet to make a ruling on Horn's motion.