Wichita ? The man who last month won a $1.1 million defamation judgment against a Wichita television station for naming him as a suspect in the BTK serial killings has died, his attorneys said Tuesday.

According to a media attorney, the court likely will throw out the verdict because decisions in libel cases do not survive the plaintiff’s death under Kansas law. The case was still in district court pending post-trial motions and had yet to be appealed.

Roger Valadez, 66, suffered an apparent heart attack Monday evening at his home, said attorney Craig Schultz. His health, except for some arthritic problems, had been reasonably good, and the death surprised his family.

“It is a tragic deal,” Schultz said.

Last month, a Sedgwick County jury found that Emmis Communications, then-owner of KSNW-TV, and its news director Todd Spessard defamed Valadez. It also found that their conduct was “extreme and outrageous” when the station used his name after he was arrested Dec. 1, 2004, on minor outstanding warrants. It awarded Valadez $800,000 for mental suffering, humiliation and shame, and $300,000 for damage to his reputation.

Valadez was never charged in connection with the BTK slayings, and he was cleared long before the arrest of Dennis Rader, who confessed to all 10 killings.

BTK – a self-coined nickname that stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill” – terrorized Wichita throughout the 1970s, taunting authorities with anonymous letters. He then resurfaced with new messages in 2004 and was arrested in February 2005.

It was not immediately clear how Valadez’s death would affect the jury’s defamation award. The case was still in district court, where a hearing had been scheduled for Dec. 8 to address issues such as how legal limitations on damages would apply to the verdict.

“Roger became a friend as well as a client, and I am saddened and his family is saddened, and we are not thinking about those kinds of things,” Schultz said Tuesday.

Dan Monnat, who represented Valadez in criminal proceedings related to disposition of DNA evidence collected from Valadez in the BTK case, also said it was too early to try to assess what effect the death would have on the civil verdict.

“The family needs to have their time to grieve,” Monnat said. “We will address those legal issues at a later time.”

Bernard Rhodes, who represented the television station and its news director in the case, declined to comment, citing the nature of the situation.

But media attorney Mike Merriam, who was not involved in the Valadez case, said Kansas’ law is clear and the court will have to dismiss the case.

“It has always been true in Kansas: Actions for libel do not survive the plaintiff’s death,” Merriam said.

In defending the case, the station and its news director pointed to evidence that showed police considered Valadez a suspect in the BTK case. The station argued a person can be defamed only if what was reported is false, saying the station’s reporting of events was accurate.

Valadez told The Associated Press after the trial that he was satisfied with the verdict: “I think the jury made the right decision. We are pleased. The jury found that it was wrong.”

Funeral services had not yet been set.