A former student who suffered severe injuries at Asbury University in Kentucky last year has filed a lawsuit for negligence, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Isabella Willingham was found unconscious in her room in November 2023 with cuts, bruises and other injuries. Even her acrylic nails had been ripped off. She stopped breathing on her own for 23 minutes, according to a Lex18 report.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Kentucky, states that Willingham enrolled as a student at Asbury in August 2023 and was required to live in an on-campus dormitory.

During a phone call with Willingham on Nov. 27, 2023, her mother said Willingham began to lose focus and said that her head was hurting, for which her roommate had given her medication, ostensibly ibuprofen.

Not long after, the phone call ended abruptly and the mobile location services associated with Willingham’s phone also ceased, the lawsuit states.

While Willingham’s parents were trying to locate her, they received a call from Asbury stating that Willingham had suffered a seizure, fallen out of her bed and was being transported to the hospital.

However, when her parents arrived at the hospital after driving from Ohio, they said Willingham looked like she’d been beaten. They claim that sheriff’s department officers told them Willingham appeared to be the “most egregious case of domestic abuse they had ever seen.”

Because of her severe injuries, Willingham remained in the hospital for two weeks. Medical tests to determine if Willingham had been sexually abused have not yet been provided, the lawsuit states.

In an Inside Edition interview, Willingham’s father said he suspected it was a hazing gone bad. Willingham’s mother said her daughter doesn’t remember anything, possibly because of all the medications she was given at the hospital, and also alluding to the possibility she was slipped a date-rape drug the morning of the incident.

Regardless, the Willinghams were not satisfied with how the university handled the incident.

According to Willingham’s father, Asbury waited more than a week after the incident to notify the student body. The school also sent an email asking for information but only sent it to the girls in Bella’s dorm rather than the entire campus.

And months later, the family still hadn’t received any new information.

Jessamine County Sheriff Kevin Grimes told news outlets the police have reviewed dorm videos and spoken to residents, and that, as of June, there had been no leads or evidence of a crime in the dorm room.

At a vigil held in Willingham’s honor in March 2024, her mother told WDKY News, “We won’t give up until Asbury acknowledges their (sic) part in what happened that day on November 27th. Asbury has to make changes before any other student is harmed emotionally and physically.”

According to the court documents, Asbury knew or should have known that there had been reports of criminal and/or inappropriate activity in the area. Willingham asserts she was the victim of “kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, battery, and potentially sexual abuse (pending the outcome of [the medical] test for same) by one or more Unknown Assailant(s).”

The lawsuit alleges that Asbury owed a higher duty of care to Willingham but was negligent in failing to warn Willingham and to exercise reasonable diligence to keep areas under its control in a safe condition.

Willingham’s severe mental and physical pain and suffering are a direct result of Asbury’s failure, the lawsuit claims.

Because it required Willingham to reside in the residence halls at the university, the lawsuit asserts that Asbury breached its contractual duty to secure its premises and to ensure the safety of students from the criminal acts of third parties.

Willingham says she has suffered emotional distress, which she claims was inflicted upon her by Asbury when it required her to live “in a dangerous on-campus dormitory knowing it was not going to live up to representations made to her about safety and security.”

The lawsuit also seeks punitive damages based on what it claims were the “wanton, reckless, outrageous, and grossly negligent” conduct of Asbury.

Well-known attorney Boz Tchividjian, who represents victims of sexual abuse, is one of the lawyers representing Willingham against Asbury.

This story has been republished with permission from MinistryWatch.

Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctorate from Baylor University. She has home schooled her three children and is happily married to her husband of 25 years.