KGW

Michael "Cowboy Mike" Braae

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington state is being sued over the rape and murder of a Lacey woman by a man known as "Cowboy Mike."

The case was brought by survivors of 44-year-old Lori Jones, who was found dead under her bed in June 2001. They accuse the state Corrections Department of being lax in keeping tabs on 48-year-old Michael John Braae, a former country singer who was convicted of killing her.

According to the lawsuit, a judge ordered the state to supervise Braae more closely a year before the killing.

Braae remains under investigation in the disappearance of two of his former girlfriends in Washington and the death of a third in Clackamas County, Ore.

Weeks after the killing of Jones, he was captured after leaping from a bridge into the Snake River after a police chase in eastern Oregon.