Judge grants request to move Champion trial from Trigg Co.
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
February 13, 2016
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/judge-grants-request-to-move-champion-trial-from-trigg-co/article_302dc398-5b02-11e7-b37d-10604b9f0f42.html
Kat Russell / The Paducah Sun
CADIZ, Ky. — Citing pervasive pretrial media attention and his family's strong ties to the Cadiz community, Ryan Champion requested Friday that his trial be moved to another county.
Trigg Circuit Judge C.A. Woodall granted the request, moving the trial to Livingston County.
Champion, 36, is charged with murder, three counts of complicity to murder and one count of kidnapping in the Oct. 26, 2014, deaths of his father, Lindsey Champion, 62; his mother, Joy Champion, 60; his sister, Emily Champion, 31; and his alleged accomplice, Vito Riservato, 22.
Police believe Champion teamed up with Riservato in a murder-for-hire scheme that led to the deaths. Riservato, who was also found dead in the Champions' Old Dover Road home, is believed to have killed the family members before Champion allegedly killed him.
Champion was at first believed to be the sole survivor of the massacre that claimed his family, as he was tied up in his family's home when police found him.
Before his arrest, Champion had stated Riservato tied him up and held him and his sister at gunpoint before their parents returned home during the attack. Champion also claimed in a TV interview that he had "turned the tables" on Riservato and wrestled the gun away before killing him.
Unconvinced, police arrested Champion on Oct. 31, believing he had worked with Riservato to have his family killed.
During Friday's pretrial conference, Champion's attorney Joanne Lynch contended it would not be possible for her client to receive a fair trial in Trigg County or in adjacent counties due to the case being so well-known.
"Although pretrial publicity has been primarily focused in the Hopkinsville media market and the Nashville media market, we don't believe that the publicity about this case has stopped at the borders of Trigg County," Lynch said. "We believe that this case has been discussed, has been reported on, has been in the public domain throughout western Kentucky."
The defense further noted that the Champion family was well-known and well-loved in Trigg County: Joy Champion taught for 30 years at Trigg County Elementary School, and her husband Lindsey had retired after 38 years with the Farm Credit Service Office in Hopkinsville. Both had graduated from Trigg County High School in the early '70s. Their daughter, Emily, was also a graduate of the high school in 2001.
Lynch requested the trial be moved anywhere other than Lyon, Caldwell or Livingston counties. The defense attorney pointed out Lyon County is home to state penitentiary, and that many of the county's residents are employed by the Department of Corrections, as are many residents in Livingston and Caldwell counties.
Commonwealth Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins offered no objection to a change of venue but disputed Lynch's assertion that an impartial jury could not be chosen in one of the adjacent counties.
"The pretrial publicity that is listed in the motion includes a large amount of articles from the New Era, it includes articles from the Cadiz Record and includes coverage from Nashville television stations and WKDZ, which is the local radio station," she said. "That is a different media market than what Livingston and Lyon counties are. Primarily, Livingston and Lyon counties are covered by Paducah Sun and WPSD, and none of those are listed in the motion."
Woodall opted to split the difference, changing the trial location but keeping it within the 56th Judicial Circuit.
Also in court Friday was Champion's former girlfriend Ann Plotkin, 41, who police believe had prior knowledge of the murders. Plotkin was arrested on Feb. 11, 2015 at her apartment in Hopkinsville and was indicted by a special grand jury in Trigg County the same day.
She is charged with three counts of complicity to murder and one count of resisting arrest. Her trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 20, 2017.
Plotkin's attorney, Kenneth Root had also filed a motion to change venues, reiterating Lynch's reasoning and adding that any place Champion is tried in should also be off limits due to the amount of media coverage his trial will inevitably receive.
Woodall agreed with Root, but opted to table the motion until after Champion's trial.
The judge said pretrial proceedings would remain in Trigg County and only the trials would be moved.
Also discussed were two motions filed by the commonwealth Friday. One requests an evidentiary hearing to allow statements made by various parties to be presented at trial.
"The motion (covers) several statements made by Vito Riservato, who was a co-conspirator in this case and obviously is now deceased," Wiggins said. "It includes some statements made by Vito's roommates to law enforcement regarding information that Vito had provided prior to the murders. The motion also includes some previous statements made by Ryan Champion to different individuals that have become relevant in this case."
Wiggins said a hearing would be necessary to determine whether those statements should be admissible at trial due to the fact that Riservato was killed along with the Champions.
Those motions will be addressed at the next pretrial conference on May 20.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
Trigg Circuit Judge C.A. Woodall granted the request, moving the trial to Livingston County.
Champion, 36, is charged with murder, three counts of complicity to murder and one count of kidnapping in the Oct. 26, 2014, deaths of his father, Lindsey Champion, 62; his mother, Joy Champion, 60; his sister, Emily Champion, 31; and his alleged accomplice, Vito Riservato, 22.
Police believe Champion teamed up with Riservato in a murder-for-hire scheme that led to the deaths. Riservato, who was also found dead in the Champions' Old Dover Road home, is believed to have killed the family members before Champion allegedly killed him.
Champion was at first believed to be the sole survivor of the massacre that claimed his family, as he was tied up in his family's home when police found him.
Before his arrest, Champion had stated Riservato tied him up and held him and his sister at gunpoint before their parents returned home during the attack. Champion also claimed in a TV interview that he had "turned the tables" on Riservato and wrestled the gun away before killing him.
Unconvinced, police arrested Champion on Oct. 31, believing he had worked with Riservato to have his family killed.
During Friday's pretrial conference, Champion's attorney Joanne Lynch contended it would not be possible for her client to receive a fair trial in Trigg County or in adjacent counties due to the case being so well-known.
"Although pretrial publicity has been primarily focused in the Hopkinsville media market and the Nashville media market, we don't believe that the publicity about this case has stopped at the borders of Trigg County," Lynch said. "We believe that this case has been discussed, has been reported on, has been in the public domain throughout western Kentucky."
The defense further noted that the Champion family was well-known and well-loved in Trigg County: Joy Champion taught for 30 years at Trigg County Elementary School, and her husband Lindsey had retired after 38 years with the Farm Credit Service Office in Hopkinsville. Both had graduated from Trigg County High School in the early '70s. Their daughter, Emily, was also a graduate of the high school in 2001.
Lynch requested the trial be moved anywhere other than Lyon, Caldwell or Livingston counties. The defense attorney pointed out Lyon County is home to state penitentiary, and that many of the county's residents are employed by the Department of Corrections, as are many residents in Livingston and Caldwell counties.
Commonwealth Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins offered no objection to a change of venue but disputed Lynch's assertion that an impartial jury could not be chosen in one of the adjacent counties.
"The pretrial publicity that is listed in the motion includes a large amount of articles from the New Era, it includes articles from the Cadiz Record and includes coverage from Nashville television stations and WKDZ, which is the local radio station," she said. "That is a different media market than what Livingston and Lyon counties are. Primarily, Livingston and Lyon counties are covered by Paducah Sun and WPSD, and none of those are listed in the motion."
Woodall opted to split the difference, changing the trial location but keeping it within the 56th Judicial Circuit.
Also in court Friday was Champion's former girlfriend Ann Plotkin, 41, who police believe had prior knowledge of the murders. Plotkin was arrested on Feb. 11, 2015 at her apartment in Hopkinsville and was indicted by a special grand jury in Trigg County the same day.
She is charged with three counts of complicity to murder and one count of resisting arrest. Her trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 20, 2017.
Plotkin's attorney, Kenneth Root had also filed a motion to change venues, reiterating Lynch's reasoning and adding that any place Champion is tried in should also be off limits due to the amount of media coverage his trial will inevitably receive.
Woodall agreed with Root, but opted to table the motion until after Champion's trial.
The judge said pretrial proceedings would remain in Trigg County and only the trials would be moved.
Also discussed were two motions filed by the commonwealth Friday. One requests an evidentiary hearing to allow statements made by various parties to be presented at trial.
"The motion (covers) several statements made by Vito Riservato, who was a co-conspirator in this case and obviously is now deceased," Wiggins said. "It includes some statements made by Vito's roommates to law enforcement regarding information that Vito had provided prior to the murders. The motion also includes some previous statements made by Ryan Champion to different individuals that have become relevant in this case."
Wiggins said a hearing would be necessary to determine whether those statements should be admissible at trial due to the fact that Riservato was killed along with the Champions.
Those motions will be addressed at the next pretrial conference on May 20.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
