Griffith jury hears opening statements
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
February 7, 2015
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/griffith-jury-hears-opening-statements/article_a9e0e9f6-5ad8-11e7-81b7-10604b9f0f42.html
The prosecution and the defense presented opening statements Friday afternoon in the trial of a Reidland man accused of killing his wife.
Earlier in the day, 16 jurors - 10 men and six women - were selected to hear the case.
The defendant, Keith Griffith, 56, allegedly shot his wife three times in the chest before setting their house on fire with her and the couple's two dogs inside.
Griffith is charged with murder, first-degree arson, tampering with evidence and two counts of first-degree animal cruelty.
Taking about three hours, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Raymond McGee and Mark Bryant, Griffith's attorney, outlined for the jury and Judge Tim Kaltenbach what their cases would focus on in McCracken Circuit Court.
McGee presented the prosecution's case first.
"You're here as jury members in this case because on Jan. 17, 2014, Keith Griffith decided he could kill his wife â ¦ and thought he could get by with it," McGee opened. "We will present our case over the next several days and let you know exactly the evidence that shows that he committed the crime."
With that McGee laid out a timeline that started in 2010, alleging Griffith met a woman named Deanna Joynes in Indianapolis and "immediately fell in love with her and began to pursue her."
The picture McGee painted was one of infatuation on Griffith's part that portrayed his wife, Julie Griffith, as an obstacle in his pursuit of this new relationship.
Over the next three years, McGee said, Griffith allegedly underwent a physical transformation involving weight loss surgery and Lasik eye surgery to please Joynes and garner her affection.
During that time, McGee said, Joynes became increasingly wary of Julie Griffith, whom Keith Griffith had said was his ex-wife, and said they could not see each other until Griffith sorted out his relationship with his wife.
McGee showed photos, gift receipts, cards, and text messages as evidence of Griffith's evolving relationship with Joynes.
"He said not only did he want to marry (Joynes), he also said he wanted her to come to Paducah and â ¦ wanted her to meet his family," McGee said. "Now I think you're picking up on the big problem here - he's got a wife in Paducah."
As for the evidence, McGee touted photos from the hotel, where Griffith said he was the night his wife died, that allegedly show him leaving around 11 p.m. that night and returning around 5:30 the next morning.
He also referred to a video police say they have from a home surveillance system which allegedly shows a car matching Griffith's SUV entering the neighborhood where he and his wife lived shortly before the fire started.
Additionally, McGee said detectives found .45 caliber bullets in Griffith's garage - the same caliber used to kill his wife - and that Griffith had recently taken out a new life insurance policy on his wife.
"Ladies and gentleman, we're going to present a strong case with lots of detailed evidence," McGee said in closing. "And what I ask is that you look at the real evidence - that you don't get pulled into the defense's theories. I have all the confidence in the world that at the end of this case Keith Griffith is going to be found guilty.
Next up was Bryant, who summarized the prosecution's case in three words: "conjecture and speculation."
"The details that Mr. McGee gave you were really phenomenal," he started, "but if you really think about it, what he told you was nothing â ¦ A whole lot of their case is conjecture and speculation."
Bryant alleged that from the first moment law enforcement officials spoke with Griffith, they focused their case on him and him alone.
"When the sheriff's office got the feeling that my client was the culprit, no one else was ever questioned - not a single soul," Bryant said. "This is not a case where the evidence led to Keith Griffith. This is a case where they only looked for evidence that implicated Keith Griffith."
Bryant went through the evidence the commonwealth had presented.
"Here's what they have," he said. "Keith was the husband, they'd been married for 36 years â ¦ He was out of town â ¦ and he was out of town a lot. He wasn't always faithful to his wife, and you're going to hear that. But all those things don't equal murdering your wife."
Bryant then listed what he said the prosecution's case lacked, including no DNA, no gun found, no cell phone pings, no eyewitnesses and no fingerprints.
"So basically, ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing that ties my client to the murder of his wife other than the sheriff's office and the commonwealth attorney's office would love to have a conviction," he said.
To drive his point home, Bryant put a photogrpah up on the projector that depicted a huge mound of trash at a city dump.
"This," he said, "is the prosecution's 'mountian of evidence.'"
Bryant said the evidence the prosecution does have proves Griffith led a "double-life" where he was a married family man at home and unfaithful to his wife when traveling - often indulging in erotic massages, patronizing strip clubs and meeting with "lady friends" while on the road.
All of that Bryant argued proves Griffith was unfaithful and dishonest but not that he is guilty of murder.
The trial will resume with the prosecution presenting evidence at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
Earlier in the day, 16 jurors - 10 men and six women - were selected to hear the case.
The defendant, Keith Griffith, 56, allegedly shot his wife three times in the chest before setting their house on fire with her and the couple's two dogs inside.
Griffith is charged with murder, first-degree arson, tampering with evidence and two counts of first-degree animal cruelty.
Taking about three hours, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Raymond McGee and Mark Bryant, Griffith's attorney, outlined for the jury and Judge Tim Kaltenbach what their cases would focus on in McCracken Circuit Court.
McGee presented the prosecution's case first.
"You're here as jury members in this case because on Jan. 17, 2014, Keith Griffith decided he could kill his wife â ¦ and thought he could get by with it," McGee opened. "We will present our case over the next several days and let you know exactly the evidence that shows that he committed the crime."
With that McGee laid out a timeline that started in 2010, alleging Griffith met a woman named Deanna Joynes in Indianapolis and "immediately fell in love with her and began to pursue her."
The picture McGee painted was one of infatuation on Griffith's part that portrayed his wife, Julie Griffith, as an obstacle in his pursuit of this new relationship.
Over the next three years, McGee said, Griffith allegedly underwent a physical transformation involving weight loss surgery and Lasik eye surgery to please Joynes and garner her affection.
During that time, McGee said, Joynes became increasingly wary of Julie Griffith, whom Keith Griffith had said was his ex-wife, and said they could not see each other until Griffith sorted out his relationship with his wife.
McGee showed photos, gift receipts, cards, and text messages as evidence of Griffith's evolving relationship with Joynes.
"He said not only did he want to marry (Joynes), he also said he wanted her to come to Paducah and â ¦ wanted her to meet his family," McGee said. "Now I think you're picking up on the big problem here - he's got a wife in Paducah."
As for the evidence, McGee touted photos from the hotel, where Griffith said he was the night his wife died, that allegedly show him leaving around 11 p.m. that night and returning around 5:30 the next morning.
He also referred to a video police say they have from a home surveillance system which allegedly shows a car matching Griffith's SUV entering the neighborhood where he and his wife lived shortly before the fire started.
Additionally, McGee said detectives found .45 caliber bullets in Griffith's garage - the same caliber used to kill his wife - and that Griffith had recently taken out a new life insurance policy on his wife.
"Ladies and gentleman, we're going to present a strong case with lots of detailed evidence," McGee said in closing. "And what I ask is that you look at the real evidence - that you don't get pulled into the defense's theories. I have all the confidence in the world that at the end of this case Keith Griffith is going to be found guilty.
Next up was Bryant, who summarized the prosecution's case in three words: "conjecture and speculation."
"The details that Mr. McGee gave you were really phenomenal," he started, "but if you really think about it, what he told you was nothing â ¦ A whole lot of their case is conjecture and speculation."
Bryant alleged that from the first moment law enforcement officials spoke with Griffith, they focused their case on him and him alone.
"When the sheriff's office got the feeling that my client was the culprit, no one else was ever questioned - not a single soul," Bryant said. "This is not a case where the evidence led to Keith Griffith. This is a case where they only looked for evidence that implicated Keith Griffith."
Bryant went through the evidence the commonwealth had presented.
"Here's what they have," he said. "Keith was the husband, they'd been married for 36 years â ¦ He was out of town â ¦ and he was out of town a lot. He wasn't always faithful to his wife, and you're going to hear that. But all those things don't equal murdering your wife."
Bryant then listed what he said the prosecution's case lacked, including no DNA, no gun found, no cell phone pings, no eyewitnesses and no fingerprints.
"So basically, ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing that ties my client to the murder of his wife other than the sheriff's office and the commonwealth attorney's office would love to have a conviction," he said.
To drive his point home, Bryant put a photogrpah up on the projector that depicted a huge mound of trash at a city dump.
"This," he said, "is the prosecution's 'mountian of evidence.'"
Bryant said the evidence the prosecution does have proves Griffith led a "double-life" where he was a married family man at home and unfaithful to his wife when traveling - often indulging in erotic massages, patronizing strip clubs and meeting with "lady friends" while on the road.
All of that Bryant argued proves Griffith was unfaithful and dishonest but not that he is guilty of murder.
The trial will resume with the prosecution presenting evidence at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
