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Man accused of killing attorney has long history of intimidation, brutality

Photos: Murder charge arraignment

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Staff photo by Nick Daggy Calvin McKelton appeared in Butler County Common Pleas Court today, Feb. 16.

By Lauren Pack, Staff Writer Updated 10:34 AM Wednesday, February 17, 2010

HAMILTON — Calvin McKelton has a long history of brutality and intimidation, including the execution of a witness who could’ve linked him to the slaying of Fairfield attorney Margaret “Missy” Allen, police and prosecutors say.

The 32-year-old Cincinnati man was arraigned Tuesday, Feb. 16, on 11 felony counts, including murder for allegedly strangling Allen to death in 2008 and aggravated murder for the execution-style shooting of 27-year-old Germaine Lamar Evans Sr. in February of last year.

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage ordered that McKelton be held without bond until his Oct. 4 trial date. McKelton faces the death penalty if convicted in the capital murder case.

“Just to have him in jail makes this a very good day,” Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper said during a news conference after the hearing.

Cincinnati police believe McKelton, also known by the nickname, “ C-Murder,” is a suspect “in a variety of other homicides” and crimes, Piper said.

McKelton’s attorney Richard Goldberg entered a not guilty plea for his client, who also stood before the judge with court-appointed attorneys Greg Howard and Melynda Cook. Howard and Cook are certified by the state to defend in death penalty cases.

“He didn’t do either of them,” said Goldberg of the Allen and Evans homicides. The attorney said his client, who was Allen’s live-in boyfriend, has cooperated with police throughout their months-long investigations, giving DNA samples and fingerprints.

Goldberg said depite the seriousness of the charges, a bond should be set for his client.

“He is not a risk of flight,” Goldberg said. “I think if he were going to leave, he would have left a year and a half ago.”

Assistant Prosecutor Lance Salyers said McKelton only stayed in the area because, “his ability to keep people quiet was best served here in the neighborhood.”

Dozens of Allen supporters, including her mother Rebecca Allen, attended the hearing. Members of Evans’ family as well as Cincinnati police who have dealt with McKelton in the past were also present.

Rebecca Allen told the JournalNews that from the moment she learned of her daughter’s death, she believed McKelton was the prime suspect.

“He put on a persona to me that he was not devious and conniving,” she said. “He’s the devil in disguise.”

McKelton was arrested around 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, in Avondale during a traffic stop initiated by the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, according to the U.S. Marshal Service. Deputy U.S. marshals and task force officers conducted surveillance at multiple locations in Avondale after receiving information McKelton would be in the area. SOFAST stopped him after he was seen driving on Reading Road near Forest Avenue.

A history of violence

McKelton was so good at intimidation that many criminal cases against him were never prosecuted, police investigators said. He has a history of violence that includes arrests for domestic violence, kidnapping and weapons charges, according to police.

“In many cases the charges were dismissed or (ignored by the grand jury) because people just didn’t show up for court,” Piper said.

Prosecutors said they believe McKelton used intimidating tactics again Feb. 27 of last year when he allegedly shot Evans in the head, killing him. Police believed Evans could’ve linked McKelton to Allen’s murder, according to a bill of particulars filed Tuesday by prosecutors.

Evans who was found dead in a stairway connecting Inwood Park with Valencia Street in Cincinnati “was killed for the purpose of preventing his testimony in any criminal proceeding, and to enable the defendant to escape detection, apprehension, trial or punishment,” the bill of particulars states.

The court document also outlines the specifics of the alleged crimes McKelton committed against Allen, including fracturing her ankle on May 4, 2008, strangling her on July 26, 2008, stealing her 2001 BMW, setting fire to the carpet in her home to destroy or conceal evidence and stuffing her body into her own car then driving 23 miles to the banks of the Ohio River, where he dumped it in a wooded area at the end of Wenner Street in Cincinnati.

During Tuesday’s arraignment, Salyers, the county’s assistant prosecutor, argued McKelton should be held without bond given the seriousness of the charges and because he has “intimidated witness after witness over a period of 10 years.”

Goldberg defended his client saying he’s not a flight risk, which is proven by the fact he never left the area and fully cooperated with police during the past 18 months of investigations.

But Salyers countered that McKelton only hung around so he could intimidate witnesses and keep them quiet. He added that McKelton cooperated with police only after a warrant was issued for his DNA and fingerprints.

McKelton, wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles, stared straight ahead and calmly answered questions from Sage during his arraignment.

Allen’s and Evan’s family members both attended the hearing, but declined comment. Cincinnati police officers also filled up nearly one row of the courtroom.

Piper said Cincinnati detectives are asking anyone who may have information about McKelton’s involvement in additional homicides or crimes to call Sgt. Robert Liston at 513-352-6466.

Piper said information contained in a press release from the U.S. Marshal Service that Allen was pregnant at the time of her death is not true.

“Some people may have thought she was pregnant, but she was not,” Piper said.

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