Judge clears way for Griffith trial
By Kat Russell
The Paducah Sun
January 30, 2015
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/judge-clears-way-for-griffith-trial/article_b8d44826-5ad4-11e7-83ea-10604b9f0f42.html
Keith Griffith, 56, will still be facing the death penalty when the case of his wife's killing goes to trial Monday.
Griffith is accused of shooting his wife three times on Jan. 17, 2014, before setting their home on fire with her and the couple's two dogs inside.
Griffith claimed he was at a hotel near Louisville during the time of the killing. Investigators, however, said they later found a video of him leaving the hotel around 11 p.m. and returning at about 5:30 a.m.
They also claim to have video from a home security system that shows a vehicle matching Griffith's SUV pulling into his neighborhood just before the fire started.
Griffith was arrested a week later on Jan. 24.
He is facing charges of murder, first-degree arson, tampering with physical evidence and second-degree animal cruelty.
In a three-hour pretrial hearing Thursday, McCracken County Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach denied defense attorney Mark Bryant's motion to dismiss the murder indictment against Griffith.
Bryant also asked if the case was not dismissed that the death penalty be taken off the table, which was also denied.
The motion, which was submitted Wednesday, accused McCracken County Sheriff's Department detectives of misconduct and tampering with evidence based on new information regarding the transfer of Griffith's 2005 Ford Expedition from his Reidland home to the sheriff's impound lot in Paducah.
According to the motion, Det. Sgt. Jesse Riddle went to Griffith's home and picked up the SUV on Jan. 17, 2014. While driving the vehicle back to Paducah, Riddle noticed it was low on gas and stopped and added $10 worth of fuel to the tank. Riddle then failed to disclose that information until this week.
During the pretrial, Riddle argued that he didn't think the added fuel was relevant to the case.
"It certainly wasn't anything I was trying to hide," he said.
At the time, Riddle stated, Griffith had not yet been charged with his wife's killing and there had not yet been any investigation into the distance between the hotel near Louisville, where Griffith said he was, and the Griffith home in Reidland.
In its response to the motion, the prosecution said the "motion reflects grandstanding rather than substance."
"What we really have here is the defense is trying to compare fuel from an event completely separate from the actual crime and compare it to the fuel that was used during the crime and that's not relevant at all," Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz said at Thursday's hearing.
After listening to both sides, Kaltenbach sided with the prosecution and denied the motion to dismiss, saying he was "governed by the rules of criminal procedure" that state he is bound to make decisions after hearing all the evidence and not before the trial begins.
Other motions presented during the pretrial hearing included the defense's motion to exclude gunshot residue analysis on the basis that it was prejudicial.
Kentucky State Police forensic scientist Amy Dorsey testified that minute traces of gunshot residue were found on Griffith's jacket and jeans.
The defense argued those traces could have been a result of transfer, secondary transfer or contamination - meaning Griffith could have come in contact with a person or an object that had the residue on it - which Dorsey conceded was possible.
Dorsey also stated she could not say with certainty when, where or how these minute traces got onto Griffith's clothing.
"This is the only evidence, if it were evidence, against our client," Bryant argued. "They have no DNA, no gun, nothing to connect our client to the death of his wife. The prosecution's case is based on speculation, and there is no reason for the jury to hear that."
The prosecution disagreed, arguing the gunshot residue was one piece in an entire case of evidence and that it may not be conclusive but it is relevant.
Kaltenbach decided the gunshot residue analysis was pertinent and denied the defense's motion.
Griffith's trial is set to start at 9 a.m. Monday with jury selection.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
Griffith is accused of shooting his wife three times on Jan. 17, 2014, before setting their home on fire with her and the couple's two dogs inside.
Griffith claimed he was at a hotel near Louisville during the time of the killing. Investigators, however, said they later found a video of him leaving the hotel around 11 p.m. and returning at about 5:30 a.m.
They also claim to have video from a home security system that shows a vehicle matching Griffith's SUV pulling into his neighborhood just before the fire started.
Griffith was arrested a week later on Jan. 24.
He is facing charges of murder, first-degree arson, tampering with physical evidence and second-degree animal cruelty.
In a three-hour pretrial hearing Thursday, McCracken County Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach denied defense attorney Mark Bryant's motion to dismiss the murder indictment against Griffith.
Bryant also asked if the case was not dismissed that the death penalty be taken off the table, which was also denied.
The motion, which was submitted Wednesday, accused McCracken County Sheriff's Department detectives of misconduct and tampering with evidence based on new information regarding the transfer of Griffith's 2005 Ford Expedition from his Reidland home to the sheriff's impound lot in Paducah.
According to the motion, Det. Sgt. Jesse Riddle went to Griffith's home and picked up the SUV on Jan. 17, 2014. While driving the vehicle back to Paducah, Riddle noticed it was low on gas and stopped and added $10 worth of fuel to the tank. Riddle then failed to disclose that information until this week.
During the pretrial, Riddle argued that he didn't think the added fuel was relevant to the case.
"It certainly wasn't anything I was trying to hide," he said.
At the time, Riddle stated, Griffith had not yet been charged with his wife's killing and there had not yet been any investigation into the distance between the hotel near Louisville, where Griffith said he was, and the Griffith home in Reidland.
In its response to the motion, the prosecution said the "motion reflects grandstanding rather than substance."
"What we really have here is the defense is trying to compare fuel from an event completely separate from the actual crime and compare it to the fuel that was used during the crime and that's not relevant at all," Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz said at Thursday's hearing.
After listening to both sides, Kaltenbach sided with the prosecution and denied the motion to dismiss, saying he was "governed by the rules of criminal procedure" that state he is bound to make decisions after hearing all the evidence and not before the trial begins.
Other motions presented during the pretrial hearing included the defense's motion to exclude gunshot residue analysis on the basis that it was prejudicial.
Kentucky State Police forensic scientist Amy Dorsey testified that minute traces of gunshot residue were found on Griffith's jacket and jeans.
The defense argued those traces could have been a result of transfer, secondary transfer or contamination - meaning Griffith could have come in contact with a person or an object that had the residue on it - which Dorsey conceded was possible.
Dorsey also stated she could not say with certainty when, where or how these minute traces got onto Griffith's clothing.
"This is the only evidence, if it were evidence, against our client," Bryant argued. "They have no DNA, no gun, nothing to connect our client to the death of his wife. The prosecution's case is based on speculation, and there is no reason for the jury to hear that."
The prosecution disagreed, arguing the gunshot residue was one piece in an entire case of evidence and that it may not be conclusive but it is relevant.
Kaltenbach decided the gunshot residue analysis was pertinent and denied the defense's motion.
Griffith's trial is set to start at 9 a.m. Monday with jury selection.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
