Trigg Circuit Court Judge Natalie White will have to soon answer two questions in the case against 31-year old Landon Stinson and the 2021 Cerulean Road and Cadiz double homicide of 76-year-old Sue Faris and 28-year-old Matthew Blakeley pertaining to the value of human life and the meaning of excessive bond.
During Thursday’s pre-trial conference in Trigg Circuit Court, White heard compelling proof and cross-examination from both defense attorney Bill Deatherage and Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins — involving a motion for Stinson’s bond to be reduced, and him remanded into the custody of his family until the scheduled September 2023 trial.
Stinson is currently lodged in the Christian County Jail on $2 million bond, $1 million each for the victims, and Deatherage contested this made his defense “difficult.” He said meeting with Stinson at the jail and exchanging discovery had been nearly impossible, and suggested the court allow his client to be loosed on a $100,000 bond and a 10% surety, with an ankle monitor and familial support suppressing any concern of a flight risk.
Ovey-Wiggins vehemently disagreed.
In her proof, Ovey-Wiggins brought investigating KSP Det. David Dick to the stand, in order to outline the course from the murder scene — all the way to Stinson’s apprehension in Los Angeles County.
Dick said the first step after speaking with the family of the deceased at the scene involved the determination of Stinson’s health. Once his truck license plate was picked up on I-40 near Amarillo, Texas, Dick noted they knew Stinson was likely alive.
Search warrants for both the murder scene, as well as Stinson’s home on Julien Road, eventually led to the discovery of a bag of paraphernalia and a broken AT&T iPhone near his duplex. Another search warrant led to the ping discovery of a pre-pay phone with purchased minutes, used to contact his mother, Rhonda Neighbors, once he reached Los Angeles.
Dick noted that phone was dropped somewhere in Los Angeles, and it still hasn’t been recovered. Another pre-paid phone was located, however, when the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department seized Stinson’s truck on a search warrant. Dick said a fugitive unit was about to deploy from Kentucky on a search, when California Highway Patrol arrested Stinson in September 2021 — illegally walking down a 6-to-8-lane thoroughfare and away from his vehicle.
Dick also noted that Stinson made a major cash withdrawal from an ATM before leaving Kentucky, and went overdrawn after putting gas in his vehicle and before leaving the state. Deatherage said his client was simply leaving the state on a planned trip, himself never owning or using debit cards on trips.
Dick disagreed.
In defense, Deatherage called both Rhonda, and Stinson’s on-again-off-again ex-girlfriend Taylor Creed to testify. She said she’d known him 15 years, and that they had “dated seriously” between 2014-16.
Creed noted that Stinson often talked about taking trips to both Florida and California, in order to “get away from this small town,” and potentially find substance abuse help.
Creed also told Deatherage that she had visited with Stinson on the night of June 30, 2021, at his home on Julien Road.
Ovey-Wiggins pressed Creed further on the June 30, 2021 evening visit.
In putting Rhonda on the stand, Deatherage wanted to show the family could take responsibility of Stinson’s potential release — in hopes of creating a better defense.
Ovey-Wiggins countered on several moments, stating she’d seen ankle monitors fail, and guilty persons take their own lives before finished trials. In her closing statements, she added that the due seriousness of the crimes could lead to life in the penitentiary, or even a death sentence, and in questioning Neighbors, she asked if the family could really watch a full-grown adult 24/7 and guarantee his delivery to a jury trial.
Ovey-Wiggins also asked Neighbors what her son’s bond should be.
White said that it was “obviously a lot to consider,” and that she would issue an opinion at some point.
Stinson’s next court date for motions required will be at 1 PM January 11, 2023.
FULL HEARING:
