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Editor’s note: This is one of a series of stories to be published on naplesnews.com and in the Daily News through the end of the year, looking back at people and issues that had been in the news during the past year, but not recently.

It has been a year of unwanted firsts for Harper Simpson, whose 31-year-old son was killed in a January boat crash off Marco Island, along with his son’s fiancee, and her mother and brother.

“We’re still trucking along,” Simpson said. “It’s been a very difficult year. A lot of firsts; first father’s day, first mother’s day. It makes it very difficult.”

Simpson is still waiting for his attorney to file a lawsuit against a racing team that they believe did work on the boat that compromised the integrity of the boat’s hull, leading to the crash.

At the same time, the sole survivor of the crash, 17-year-old Jennifer Molter, is still seeking legal emancipation from her father, who she said denied her access to thousands of dollars raised for the family after the crash.

It was around 1 p.m. on Jan. 6 when Simpson’s son, Harper Simpson II, went boating in the 33-foot 1994 Powerplay speedboat he purchased less than a month earlier. The younger Simpson’s fiancee, Meagan Molter, 22; Molter’s mother, Linda, 42; brother, James, 20; and sister Jennifer, then 16, were also aboard the boat.

Around 5:20 p.m., after a day of cruising around and jumping wakes, Simpson turned the boat into one last, large wake.

The boat left the water at a 45-degree angle. The back end hit a second wave, causing the front of the boat to “stuff” into a third wave.

The hull of the boat was destroyed by the impact and all of the passengers except Jennifer were killed, a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

Two boat experts, a naval architect and a marine surveyor who examined the wreckage found evidence that someone who had previously had possession of the boat made alterations that compromised the integrity of the hull, said Rod Sullivan, the elder Simpson’s attorney, in September.

Through their investigation, Simpson and Sullivan discovered documents indicating that in 2004 someone paid to install two new engines and a drive package in the boat.

They believe the work was done at an Orlando address owned by Felix Serralles Jr., a powerboat racer and president and CEO of Distillerias Serralles Inc., the producer of the Puerto Rican “Don Q” rum brand.

Simpson and Sullivan believe the work on the boat was done by a man named Henry Simon, a former member of the Don Q racing team.

Sullivan said in September that the Don Q racing team would be the primary defendant in a lawsuit. When contacted in December, Sullivan said the lawsuit still hasn’t been filed, but that it would be filed soon in the Miami area.

“We’ve been as busy as we possibly can be this fall,” Sullivan said. “People tell me I’m blessed by being busy. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.”

On Oct. 5, Jennifer Molter filed a petition for emancipation from her father, Alan Molter, who she claims kicked her out of the house and has denied her money that was raised for the family after the crash.

Alan Molter said in September that the money is being used to pay the mortgage, and that Jennifer, a freshman at Edison College, moved out of the house because he wouldn’t let her drink alcohol.

Jennifer Molter declined to comment for this story, saying she was unhappy with a previous article written about her. Her attorney, Anne Frank, said Alan Molter has since agreed to the emancipation.

“We sent an order to the judge and we’re waiting to see if the judge will sign it,” Frank said.

The boat accident tore the Molter family apart, family members said in September. Things haven’t improved much since then, Frank said.

Still, considering the circumstances, Simpson said Jennifer is pulling through.

“Jennifer is doing really well,” Simpson said. “We all had Thanksgiving together. She’s in school. She’s getting good grades.”