Champion pleads guilty to killing family members
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
December 8, 2016
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/champion-pleads-guilty-to-killing-family-members/article_00f0b7a4-5b14-11e7-b907-10604b9f0f42.html
CADIZ — "It's over."
It was a whisper, spoken by one of the 30 or more family members who packed the courtroom Thursday as Ryan Champion accepted a plea agreement and admitted to conspiring to kill his family and killing his accomplice.
Donning a bright orange jailhouse jumpsuit, wrists shackled at his waist, Champion, 38, appeared in Trigg Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and one count of kidnapping.
He offered no statement to the court or words of remorse.
His plea was met with audible sobs from the family members seated in the gallery.
As part of the plea agreement, Commonwealth Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins took the death penalty off the table, instead recommending Champion be given a life sentence on each count without the possibility of probation or parole.
Champion's plea comes two years, one month and 13 days after the bodies of his father Lindsey Champion, 62; his mother, Joy Champion, 60; his sister, Emily Champion, 31; and his alleged accomplice, Vito Riservato, 22, of Hopkinsville, were found at the family's Old Dover Road home in Cadiz.
Champion, who was also found in the home that day, initially fingered Riservato as the shooter, telling a TV news crew that he managed to "turn the tables" on Riservato, killing him.
That story, however, did not hold up long, and Kentucky State Police arrested Champion the next week on Oct. 31, 2014, stating they believed Champion hired Riservato to kill his family and then turned on Riservato.
Following the proceeding, Ovey-Wiggins said the agreement offers long-awaited closure to the family, something that wasn't guaranteed if the case went to trial.
"With this plea, there is certainty that Ryan Champion will be incarcerated for the rest of his life for these crimes," she said. "With this plea, there is certainty that Ryan Champion has no hope of ever being a free man again."
The agreement, she said, comes with the consent of the family and the state police, whose investigation led to the charges against Champion.
"This has been a long journey to justice," she said. "Over the past two years there have been countless hours spent on this case. I can't even begin to estimate how many hours, the state police ... have spent on this case. I can't even begin to estimate how much time the Commonwealth's Attorney Office has spent on this case. We all had a common goal of reaching justice in this case. We believe that with this guilty plea justice has been served."
Ovey-Wiggins added that had the case gone to trial and resulted in a conviction and death penalty sentence, the family would most likely have had to endure years of appeals and uncertainty.
"It's been a long time coming," said Lisa Champion, sister of Lindsey Champion, following the proceeding.
Though it doesn't bring her brother back, Lisa Champion expressed relief that the case was finally over and that she and her kin would be spared the "spectacle" and invasiveness of a trial.
"I couldn't ask for anything more," she said. "We were dreading the trial so badly because our family has always been so private."
Speaking for herself and others in the family, Lisa Champion talked briefly of the killings' impact.
"Our family members were taken from us, (and) along with them our lives were destroyed," she said. "We lost a sister, a brother and a niece. There's no penalty severe enough for taking Joy, Lindsey and Emily's lives, nor is there a penalty sufficient for the anguish we've endured and must endure for the remainder of our lives."
The events of that day will haunt the family, she said, adding, "It's something we'll never get over."
"Honestly, I've often said that we may as well have perished with them because of the quality of our lives afterward and what we've had to deal with because we were all very close."
As Trigg Circuit Judge C.A. Woodall closed the proceedings, the reality that the case was finally over sank in and a sense of relief could be felt throughout the courtroom as family members made their way around the room, hugging each other tightly and crying.
Champion is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27. Ovey-Wiggins said family members will have the chance to address the court and speak their minds.
It was a whisper, spoken by one of the 30 or more family members who packed the courtroom Thursday as Ryan Champion accepted a plea agreement and admitted to conspiring to kill his family and killing his accomplice.
Donning a bright orange jailhouse jumpsuit, wrists shackled at his waist, Champion, 38, appeared in Trigg Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and one count of kidnapping.
He offered no statement to the court or words of remorse.
His plea was met with audible sobs from the family members seated in the gallery.
As part of the plea agreement, Commonwealth Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins took the death penalty off the table, instead recommending Champion be given a life sentence on each count without the possibility of probation or parole.
Champion's plea comes two years, one month and 13 days after the bodies of his father Lindsey Champion, 62; his mother, Joy Champion, 60; his sister, Emily Champion, 31; and his alleged accomplice, Vito Riservato, 22, of Hopkinsville, were found at the family's Old Dover Road home in Cadiz.
Champion, who was also found in the home that day, initially fingered Riservato as the shooter, telling a TV news crew that he managed to "turn the tables" on Riservato, killing him.
That story, however, did not hold up long, and Kentucky State Police arrested Champion the next week on Oct. 31, 2014, stating they believed Champion hired Riservato to kill his family and then turned on Riservato.
Following the proceeding, Ovey-Wiggins said the agreement offers long-awaited closure to the family, something that wasn't guaranteed if the case went to trial.
"With this plea, there is certainty that Ryan Champion will be incarcerated for the rest of his life for these crimes," she said. "With this plea, there is certainty that Ryan Champion has no hope of ever being a free man again."
The agreement, she said, comes with the consent of the family and the state police, whose investigation led to the charges against Champion.
"This has been a long journey to justice," she said. "Over the past two years there have been countless hours spent on this case. I can't even begin to estimate how many hours, the state police ... have spent on this case. I can't even begin to estimate how much time the Commonwealth's Attorney Office has spent on this case. We all had a common goal of reaching justice in this case. We believe that with this guilty plea justice has been served."
Ovey-Wiggins added that had the case gone to trial and resulted in a conviction and death penalty sentence, the family would most likely have had to endure years of appeals and uncertainty.
"It's been a long time coming," said Lisa Champion, sister of Lindsey Champion, following the proceeding.
Though it doesn't bring her brother back, Lisa Champion expressed relief that the case was finally over and that she and her kin would be spared the "spectacle" and invasiveness of a trial.
"I couldn't ask for anything more," she said. "We were dreading the trial so badly because our family has always been so private."
Speaking for herself and others in the family, Lisa Champion talked briefly of the killings' impact.
"Our family members were taken from us, (and) along with them our lives were destroyed," she said. "We lost a sister, a brother and a niece. There's no penalty severe enough for taking Joy, Lindsey and Emily's lives, nor is there a penalty sufficient for the anguish we've endured and must endure for the remainder of our lives."
The events of that day will haunt the family, she said, adding, "It's something we'll never get over."
"Honestly, I've often said that we may as well have perished with them because of the quality of our lives afterward and what we've had to deal with because we were all very close."
As Trigg Circuit Judge C.A. Woodall closed the proceedings, the reality that the case was finally over sank in and a sense of relief could be felt throughout the courtroom as family members made their way around the room, hugging each other tightly and crying.
Champion is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27. Ovey-Wiggins said family members will have the chance to address the court and speak their minds.
