DALLAS, Texas — In their first TV interview, the parents of 25-year-old Chris Hill told WFAA Thursday that they want more precise answers as to how their son could have fallen and died at '77 Degrees' bar in Dallas, off of Knox/Henderson.
Bettina and Robert Hill are now suing the bar for negligence. In a lawsuit filed Monday, they claim that the bar was understaffed and crowded when Hill died the night of March 12.
They also claim that the safety railing was too low on the third-floor balcony where Hill fell.
On Thursday, the bar and its owners are disputing those claims and offering a new side of the story.
"It's been a very hard and trying process," mother Bettina Hill said. "I still expect him to come home and walk through the door."
Hill came to Dallas the day the St. Paddy's Day parade made its return to the city after being postponed for two years due to COVID-19.
Like his parents, Hill resided in Wise County. His father, Robert Hill, told WFAA that he tried to convince his son to stick around and hang out with him in Bridgeport the day he died -- but was unsuccessful.
"He had plans to build a fence around his property," Robert Hill said. "I told him not to go to Dallas and that we should build the fence instead or go to downtown Bridgeport where they were having a separate St. Paddy's Day celebration. I wish he never left."
Still, the Hills say that their son was a responsible person with no intention of getting in trouble or rowdy.
The 25-year-old worked for the City of Bridgeport alongside his parents and had for years.
"He was a very responsible young man -- a lot more responsible than many friends of his that were the same age," Bettina Hill said.
His parents told WFAA that the 25-year-old went to Dallas with his girlfriend of seven years. The family also said that Hill had told them he would propose to her soon.
Hill's brother Andrew revealed he was the last family member to speak with him.
"He called me asking about parking because he wasn't too familiar with the Greenville area," Hill said. "We talked for probably ten minutes about that and sports. He was my best friend. He texted me about going, but I just wanted to stay home and relax. There are times where I wish that I would have been there - but God has a plan, and I wonder if it would have changed anything."
Bettina Hill said she and her husband got a call from Hill's girlfriend later in the evening.
"She was hysterical, and then we were told that he fell from a balcony, and that was it," Bettina Hill said.
The suit reads that Hill had massive facial and cranial fractures. It also said that he died of a brain bleed after being transported to the hospital.
"I was just in shock for days," Robert Hill said. "We could barely cope with the loss; it was just too much to absorb. He was one of the most careful people there is. How could this have happened? It makes no sense whatsoever."
The Hills want to know what happened to their son precisely. A police investigation and TABC investigation are underway with which the bar is cooperating fully.
In court this week, the Hills' attorneys, Michelle Simpson Tuegel and Mike Simpson, requested that the bar retain evidence from the night Hill fell and make the premises accessible for the case. The bar's attorneys agreed.
The Hills hope some surveillance footage will explain what happened.
The bar, however, told WFAA Thursday that Hill jumped off the railing, according to witnesses.
They provided no proof to back up that claim, as well.
Their new statement below is from attorney Dave Wishnew:
"The continued accusations made in the media by the family’s lawyer are inaccurate. At the time of the incident, the bar was neither understaffed nor overcrowded. The structure of 77 Degrees is fully code compliant, including the railings. The bar’s owners and employees have fully cooperated with the police investigation, and some witnesses have provided statements that Mr. Hill jumped from the railing. 77 Degrees truly regrets that it must continue to publicly share information about Mr. Hill’s death because the family’s lawyer, a self-proclaimed “legal voice in the media,” continues to exploit the press for her own personal gain.
Robert and Bettina Hill told WFAA that there would be no reason for their son to harm himself, especially while with his girlfriend.
"She made him, and she completed him. Sadness is turning to anger right now," Robert Hill said. "How could someone so careful--who worked on big equipment for the same city I do--how could this happen?"
Attorney Tuegel scoffed at the bar's response Thursday night.
"People should be able to go into a restaurant or bar and be safe and leave and go home that night to their family — and that’s not what happened that night for Christopher," Tuegel said.
For now, the Hills will mourn the son they lost.
"I wish you could have met him," Robert Hill said.
"I want to make sure this doesn't happen to another family," Bettina Hill said.