The attorney said that it wouldn’t be unusual for McKelton’s fingerprints to be found in Allen’s Whitmore Lane house or in her vehicle because he lived with her.
On Feb. 16, Goldberg stood beside McKelton as he entered not guilty pleas to 11 felony counts of murder in connection with Allen’s death and aggravated murder in the execution-style shooting of Germaine Lamar Evans Sr., 27, in February 2009.
Prosecutors say Evans was killed because he could tie McKelton to Allen’s death.
McKelton is now represented by Butler County attorneys Melynda Cook and Greg Howard, both experienced in death penalty cases. They maintain their client is wrongfully accused in both homicides, according to court documents.
Last week, Howard filed motions stating alibis for both slayings. McKelton claims he was at a bar at 7750 Reading Road in Cincinnati when Allen was killed and her body dumped on a riverbank, according to court records. McKelton says he was at his new girlfriend’s residence, 3012 Burnett Ave. in Cincinnati when Evans was fatally shot. That girlfriend is also Evans’ sister.
Howard said he filed the alibi notices, but doesn’t yet know if they will be used during the trial.
“It will depend on the evidence presented by the state. If they prove their case or not,” said Howard, noting witnesses will be called to the stand to back up the alibis if necessary.
But the prosecution team has more than 80 people on its witness list, eight of whom remain undisclosed to the defense. Prosecutors say the witnesses will prove McKelton, who police say has a long history of brutality and intimidation, killed twice.
Prosecutors were able to keep the identity of some witnesses secret because Ohio law allows for nondisclosure in certain cases, including to ensure the safety of witnesses.
They pointed to the fact that McKelton is already charged with killing a witness, and ensuring other witnesses show up for trial is a concern.
While it is not a new rule, Howard said prosecutors are using it more often since rules of evidence changed in July. Defense attorneys now not only get names of witnesses, but also their statements prior to trial.“So they are using it more, because they don’t want to hand over the statements and the name,” Howard said.
Police say defendant good at intimidation
Represented by court-appointed attorneys Melynda Cook and Greg Howard, McKelton recently entered alibis for his whereabouts at the time when both murders were committed.
When asked about the alibis, Assistant Prosecutor Lance Salyers said, “our entire case will prove that is wrong.”
Salyers and Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper are trying the case together. It will be one of the last for Piper, who is running unopposed in November for 12th District Court of Appeals judge.
Shortly after McKelton’s arrest in February, Piper said Cincinnati police believe McKelton, also known by the nickname “C-Murder,” is a suspect “in a variety of other homicides” and crimes.
Police investigators say McKelton was so good at intimidation that many criminal cases against him were never prosecuted.
Court documents outline the specifics of the alleged crimes McKelton committed against Allen: Fracturing her ankle on May 4, 2008; strangling her on July 26, 2008; stealing her 2001 BMW; setting fire to carpeting in her home to destroy or conceal evidence; and stuffing her body into her car and driving 23 miles to the banks of the Ohio River, where he dumped it in a wooded area at the end of Wenner Street.
Prosecutors say they believe McKelton used intimidating tactics again Feb. 27, 2009, when he allegedly shot 27-year-old Germaine Lamar Evans Sr. in the head, killing him. Police believe Evans could link McKelton to Allen’s slaying, and McKelton shot him to prevent him from testifying, according to court records.
McKelton was arrested Friday, Feb. 12, in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Avondale as the prime suspect in both killings.
Evans, who was found dead in a stairway connecting Inwood Park with Valencia Street, “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,” court records state.
During McKelton’s arraignment in February, Salyers said the defendant should be held without bond given the crimes he is accused of committing. Salyers added that McKelton has “intimidated witness after witness over a period of 10 years.”
Court security will be tight
Because of McKelton’s past history, security for his trial, which is scheduled to last through Oct. 15, will be beefed up in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage’s courtroom.
McKelton will be wearing a stun belt that can be used by court security deputies if there’s any outbreak. It will be concealed by his clothing and will not be visible to jurors.
Prosecutors also oppose a request by Howard and Cook to have the jury see the crime scene where Evans was allegedly murdered in Mt. Auburn.
“Transporting the defendant along with the members of the jury will greatly increase the security concerns already present in this case. ,” Salyers wrote in opposition to the jury view request.
Sage had not ruled by Friday on the issue.
Request to remove counsel
Plea negotiations did take place last month and all indications are that McKelton considered a plea, then rejected it. Shortly afterward, McKelton filed a hand-written motion requesting Howard, Cook and Richard Goldberg be removed as counsel.
McKelton told Sage on Sept. 16 that he wanted all three of his attorneys removed because of “irreconcilable differences, lawyer misconduct, conflict of interest, misrepresentation, personal conflict and complete lack of communication.”
Cook, Howard and Goldberg filed a motion on Sept. 14, requesting to withdraw from the case, stating “the defendant has expressed the belief that none of his attorneys are representing him with his best interests in mind and that instead, the attorneys’ allegiance is with the prosecutor. This has resulted in an irreparable breakdown in the attorney client relationship that cannot be repaired.”
Howard said the breakdown came as the defense team was trying to work out a plea for McKelton. He said as they got close to trial, he expressed some interest in a plea deal.
In a hearing Sept. 17, McKelton told Sage, “I feel like I was being coerced into making decisions I didn’t want to make.”
McKelton said he believed his counsel was using scare tactics to get him to sign a plea.
“I am innocent,” he said. In the hearing, he said his attorneys were not acting in his best interest and alleged that one muttered a racial slur. That allegation was adamantly denied by Cook.
McKelton said he did not believe he could be represented fairly by any attorney in Hamilton or Butler counties and asked that counsel be appointed from the state public defender’s office.
Salyers described McKelton’s motion as an intentional maneuver to continue the case. “The state has no interest in who represents him, we just want to go to trial on Oct. 4,” Salyers said.
Sage pointed out that in pre-trial motions over the past seven months, McKelton had never indicated a problem with his attorneys and had even been permitted to keep his retained attorney as well as being appointed two attorneys “very experienced” in capital cases.
“The court believes the issue is McKelton is voluntarily refusing to cooperate with his counsel,” Sage said.
“If you choose not to cooperate, that is your choice, you do not have the right to a counsel of your choice, you have a right to competent counsel,” Sage said, noting that McKelton said he is indigent and that he has appointed counsel at taxpayers’ expense. “The breakdown is you don’t like the advise of counsel.”
Sage denied Cook’s and Howard’s motion to withdraw as McKelton’s counsel.
Goldberg was permitted to withdraw because he has an ethical conflict as counsel for a witness who is expected to testify against McKelton.
“I cannot come between two clients,” Goldberg said in a hearing Sept. 17.
Howard said last week they have visited McKelton in jail and he is now communicating with them again.
“He knows we were trying to help him save his life,” Howard said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2168 or lpack@coxohio.com.
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