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photo by Jessica St. James
Garvin attorneys seek removal of death penalty
Published Saturday, November 14, 2009
PORTSMOUTH — Defense attorneys for the Franklin Furnace woman charged with killing three people last December want the death penalty specification off the case.
Kara Garvin, 30, is accused in the shooting deaths of husband and wife, Ed Mollett, 46, and Juanita Mollett, 43, and their daughter, Christina Mollett, 20. The triple homicides happened Dec. 22, 2008, at the Molletts’ trailer on Snook Road in Franklin Furnace.
Garvin faces 18 counts including aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, theft of drugs and tampering of evidence from an indictment that specifies the death penalty.
The woman went to authorities after the bodies of the three were found. She was then charged with the crimes.
However, in a pre-trial hearing Friday in the Scioto County Common Pleas Courtroom of Howard H. Harcha III, Garvin’s lawyers said the death penalty specification should be removed because of the manner in which it was attached.
According to William Eachus, co-defense attorney, statute requires that each count in the indictment that is to carry the death penalty to be listed with that count, instead of at the end, as it was in the Garvin document.
“This wasn’t done in a statutorial way,” Eachus told the judge.
Harcha requested more case law from the defense before he would rule on the motion.
Most of the morning hearing concerned another defense motion to suppress evidence of the eyewitness photo lineup because of the way it was conducted.
The older Molletts’ 6-year-old grandson was inside the trailer during the murder and then ran to neighbors for help. That night the young boy identified Garvin from a page of six photographs of different women taken from the jail records; a photo of Garvin was among them.
The next day, the neighbor, James Damron, also identified the woman from a similar compilation.
Charles Knight, co-defense attorney, argued that the photo information was presented to the two witnesses in a suggestive manner that prompted them to make the Garvin identification. However, Scioto County Sheriff’s detective Paul Blaine, who was present at both witness interviews, disputed Knight’s contention.
“(The boy) was not coached by anyone,” Blaine said.
The child’s statement said he was asleep at his grandparents.
“A lady had walked in. She was 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-6, 105 to 120 pounds wearing a black vest with knives and guns. She started shooting,” according to the statement read in court.
Knight questioned how the child could make such a precise physical description.
The detective said he asked bystanders to come into the room where the interview was conducted to see if their weight and height matched that of the woman he had seen.
The child picked Garvin out from the six photographs presented to him.
“The little boy picked (Garvin) out and said ‘She’s been at grandpa’s before,’ ” the detective testified.
Damron, who placed the 911 call, told authorities the night of the murder he couldn’t identify the alleged shooter, Blaine said. However, the next day, he also picked Garvin out of a photo lineup.
Harcha said a ruling on that motion should come in about a month.
The trial was to have started earlier this month but was continued for the prosecution to get the results of DNA testing from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation lab at London.
A second trial date will be after Feb. 15.
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Comments
Posted by buckfan4life2 (anonymous) on November 15, 2009 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
THANK GOD THE LITTLE BOY GOT AWAY OR HE WOULD HAVE BEEN VICTIM NO#4. AND HERES PEOPLE WANTING TO USE MY TAX DOLLARS TO KEEP THIS SCUM ALIVE. WHAT HAS THIS COUNTRY CAME TO?
Posted by TexEye (anonymous) on November 15, 2009 at 1:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I feel really bad for Mr Damron. He's just trying to do the right thing by his neighbors and friends. The night of the murders he only knew the vehicle was a tan jeep. The next day he suddenly can positively identify a person in the vehicle behind tinted windows and at night. It makes you wonder.
Posted by OLDad (anonymous) on November 16, 2009 at 8:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
wasted tax dollars..again.....she was identified by 2 people...put her away....too many times the ones committing the crime has more rights than the people they are hurting....need to bring back public hangings
Posted by buckfan4life2 (anonymous) on November 17, 2009 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey, its great to see you and I agree on something oldad. I guess we see eye to eye on alot of things but one. GO TIGERS!
Posted by TexEye (anonymous) on November 17, 2009 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
OLDad so you're convinced she's guilty and would hang her without a trail? Did you read my 11/15 post? Go outside tonight and try to identify people in vehicles passing by your house in the dark. I tried it and couldn't tell black from white; male from female.
Did you read this article? The detective said the boy was not coached. Then they read the boys statement giving the womans height & weight; really a 6-year can do that. Apparently not because the detective had to say they helped him by bringing in people for him to look at. I have to wonder how the women were dressed for that line-up.
I'm all for the death penalty but I want to know for sure I'm hanging the right person.
Posted by Jen (anonymous) on November 18, 2009 at 8:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is absolutely unbelievable!! This pathetic excuse for a human is 100% guilty. She deserves the death penalty, and she deserves it more so for what she's done to Anthony, and for that cocky smirk she has on in her picture. There is NO doubt she blatantly murdered 3 people and for some reason that is beyond anything resembling common sense, these Columbus lawyers have decided to make sure Anthony will have to live with the fear and horror of this by keeping her alive. Seems to me, she's pretty convinced she can do whatever she wants and not have a second thought about it. I bet that's some encouragement for other people who think like her. Wow, wonder who she's planning on killing next if she gets out of this?
Posted by theguydowtown (anonymous) on November 19, 2009 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
These people.....defense attorneys.....how do they sleep at night?
And the nerve of someone taking 3 innocent lives and then asking for mercy to have their own life spared.
CHILD PLEASE.
I agree that if our judicial system worked fast and earnest and greatly increased the turnaround time from conviction to punishment (public hangings may be a bit much)we would see a dramatic decrease in violent crimes such as this one.
Posted by theguydowtown (anonymous) on November 19, 2009 at 10 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by TexEye (anonymous) on November 19, 2009 at 1:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Question for Jen -- How do you know she is 100% guilty? Were you there? Are you an eyewitness because if you are you should step forward and testify as to your knowledge of the crime.
You sound really confident so you must know something. I'm sure you're not the type person to irresponsibly accuse and judge another person without cause so please share with us how you know she's 100% guilty.
Posted by Mayoo56 (anonymous) on November 20, 2009 at 7:32 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
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