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Defense pursues evidence in Kelsey Smith murder case
By Diane Carroll/The Kansas City Star, Mo.
A Johnson County judge declined Tuesday to sanction District Attorney Phill Kline for allegedly withholding evidence in the Kelsey Smith murder case.
But after defense attorneys said they still need a Target video and follow-up reports on 1,100 leads, District Judge Peter Ruddick said he had never handled a murder case that required so many hearings for the defense to get the evidence it deserves.
"How long have they been asking for the video?" Ruddick asked Kline
"Very early on," Kline replied.
"How many court hearings have we had?" Ruddick asked. "Come on, Mr. Kline. Come on."
Defense attorneys for Edwin R. Hall alleged in February that the district attorney's office withheld evidence that might help their client.
Among that evidence, attorneys Paul Cramm and Carl Cornwell said then, were FBI reports about another potential suspect identified by Grandview police, videotape of the Target parking lot where 18-year-old Smith was abducted on June 2, 2007, and surveillance tape from three stores at Oak Park Mall which the defense contended might provide an alibi for their client.
Cramm and Cornwell asked Ruddick to impose sanctions, possibly including a fine, a delay in the trial or even dismissal of the case. Ruddick has been holding hearings and hearing testimony on the issues since.
Hall, 27, of Olathe is charged with capital murder, kidnapping and rape in the killing of Smith, who disappeared at 7:07 p.m. after doing an errand at the Target store near 97th Street and Quivira Road in Overland Park. Her body was found four days later near Longview Lake in southern Jackson County.
Hall's trial is set for Sept 16; the state is seeking the death penalty.
Ruddick said he was pleased that Overland Park police and the FBI had conducted audits of what had been given to the defense. And he said he believes Kline and his office are trying to do better. But he said the process has been "excruciating" and "very frustrating."
After the hearing, Kline said he was pleased Ruddick declined to impose sanctions.
"Any death penalty case involves excruciating procedures," Kline said.
During the hearing, Kline said he wanted to work with the defense and planned to turn over whatever information they want.
Cramm told the judge that investigators handled about 1,360 leads. The defense has follow-up reports that account for 257 of them, he said. But for about 1,100 leads, he said, the defense has received no follow-up reports.
Kline said some leads have no follow-up reports. Once Hall said he was the man in the Target video on June 2, 2007, he said, authorities did not need to follow up tips about who that person was.
Overland Park police do have follow-up reports on other leads, Kline said, but they consider them "work product" which does not have to be turned over to the defense. But Kline said he will make those reports available.
On the video issue, Kline has said much of the confusion was over the format and equipment needed to see the tape.
However, Cramm said Tuesday that the defense still needs video of the Target parking lot before 7 p.m. They have the video after 7 p.m., just before and after Smith vanished.
Kline said videotape before 7 p.m. was not available because that tape was purged automatically every 24 hours. Cramm said he found it hard to believe that such an important piece of video was missing when investigators began looking at the tape well before that 24-hour period would have been up.
Kline said he had a report from Target explaining the issue. He walked over to the defense table and handed it to them. Ruddick said the defense should have had that report sooner.
The defense said that the audits never really answered the question of why they never received the FBI reports regarding the suspect identified by Grandview police. An Overland Park detective has testified that a clerk inadvertently failed to scan those FBI reports into the computer file.
If the defense had not started asking questions about that suspect, the judge said, and information about the man had come up after the trial, any appeals court would have sent the case back for retrial.
To reach Diane Carroll, call 816-234-7704 or send e-mail to dcarroll@kcstar.com.
To see more of The Kansas City Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansascity.com.
Copyright © 2008, The Kansas City Star, Mo.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Subscribe To Lake AlertsBut after defense attorneys said they still need a Target video and follow-up reports on 1,100 leads, District Judge Peter Ruddick said he had never handled a murder case that required so many hearings for the defense to get the evidence it deserves.
"How long have they been asking for the video?" Ruddick asked Kline
"Very early on," Kline replied.
"How many court hearings have we had?" Ruddick asked. "Come on, Mr. Kline. Come on."
Defense attorneys for Edwin R. Hall alleged in February that the district attorney's office withheld evidence that might help their client.
Among that evidence, attorneys Paul Cramm and Carl Cornwell said then, were FBI reports about another potential suspect identified by Grandview police, videotape of the Target parking lot where 18-year-old Smith was abducted on June 2, 2007, and surveillance tape from three stores at Oak Park Mall which the defense contended might provide an alibi for their client.
Cramm and Cornwell asked Ruddick to impose sanctions, possibly including a fine, a delay in the trial or even dismissal of the case. Ruddick has been holding hearings and hearing testimony on the issues since.
Hall, 27, of Olathe is charged with capital murder, kidnapping and rape in the killing of Smith, who disappeared at 7:07 p.m. after doing an errand at the Target store near 97th Street and Quivira Road in Overland Park. Her body was found four days later near Longview Lake in southern Jackson County.
Hall's trial is set for Sept 16; the state is seeking the death penalty.
Ruddick said he was pleased that Overland Park police and the FBI had conducted audits of what had been given to the defense. And he said he believes Kline and his office are trying to do better. But he said the process has been "excruciating" and "very frustrating."
After the hearing, Kline said he was pleased Ruddick declined to impose sanctions.
"Any death penalty case involves excruciating procedures," Kline said.
During the hearing, Kline said he wanted to work with the defense and planned to turn over whatever information they want.
Cramm told the judge that investigators handled about 1,360 leads. The defense has follow-up reports that account for 257 of them, he said. But for about 1,100 leads, he said, the defense has received no follow-up reports.
Kline said some leads have no follow-up reports. Once Hall said he was the man in the Target video on June 2, 2007, he said, authorities did not need to follow up tips about who that person was.
Overland Park police do have follow-up reports on other leads, Kline said, but they consider them "work product" which does not have to be turned over to the defense. But Kline said he will make those reports available.
On the video issue, Kline has said much of the confusion was over the format and equipment needed to see the tape.
However, Cramm said Tuesday that the defense still needs video of the Target parking lot before 7 p.m. They have the video after 7 p.m., just before and after Smith vanished.
Kline said videotape before 7 p.m. was not available because that tape was purged automatically every 24 hours. Cramm said he found it hard to believe that such an important piece of video was missing when investigators began looking at the tape well before that 24-hour period would have been up.
Kline said he had a report from Target explaining the issue. He walked over to the defense table and handed it to them. Ruddick said the defense should have had that report sooner.
The defense said that the audits never really answered the question of why they never received the FBI reports regarding the suspect identified by Grandview police. An Overland Park detective has testified that a clerk inadvertently failed to scan those FBI reports into the computer file.
If the defense had not started asking questions about that suspect, the judge said, and information about the man had come up after the trial, any appeals court would have sent the case back for retrial.
To reach Diane Carroll, call 816-234-7704 or send e-mail to dcarroll@kcstar.com.
To see more of The Kansas City Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansascity.com.
Copyright © 2008, The Kansas City Star, Mo.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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