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Updated: 7:43 AM Feb 26, 2010
Lawrence Stinnett Found Guilty in Murder Trial
BOWLING GREEN -- Jury deliberations are over in the murder and kidnapping trial involving 50-year-old Lawrence Stinnett.
Posted: 12:55 PM Feb 25, 2010Reporter: Daniel Kemp Email Address: daniel.kemp@wbko.com |
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BOWLING GREEN -- Jury deliberations are over in the murder and kidnapping trial involving 50-year-old Lawrence Stinnett.
Stinnett is accused of hog-tying his former girlfriend, Christina Renshan, and beating her to death inside her Bowling Green apartment in 2006.
Lawrence Stinnett has been found guilty of intentional murder and kidnapping.
It took jurors about five hours to decide Stinnett's fate after hearing closing arguments from both sides early Thursday afternoon.
"This defendant in his rage, in his fury, in his pain, in his confusion, never in his heart and never in his mind intended for Christina Renshaw to die or be killed," Lawrence Stinnett told jurors during closing arguments Thursday morning.
Stinnett told jurors mental problems played a role in his attack on Christina Renshaw.
"He just doesn't function or tick in the norm if you will, on irrational events such as that," Stinnett said.
It was "extreme emotional distress" caused by a phone call where he allegedly heard Renshaw having sex with other men that Stinnett says made him snap and drive from Oklahoma City to Bowling Green.
"The defendant had to actually endure three hours of actually hearing the sex and then drive 12 hours as it continued playing in his mind wondering, who it was and how long it's been going on and all the things that come to your mind with something like that," Stinnett said.
Stinnett has admitted to kicking Renshaw during the beating but told jurors his role wouldn't support "subarachnoid hemorrhage," the official cause of Renshaw's death.
"If in fact that's true, and legitimate then Alanda Lewis, not Lawrence Stinnett, gave Christina subarachnoid hemorrhage to the brain," Stinnett said.
Alanda Lewis is charged with the same crime and her case will be tried separately.
"Alanda Lewis had no motivation to do anything to Christina Renshaw," said Commonwealth Attorney Chris Cohron.
On Thursday, the prosecution asked jurors to keep in mind threatening voicemails Stinnett left on Renshaw's phone during his trip to Kentucky.
"I'm coming to kill you," Cohron recalled. "The next time I see you, I will kill you."
Cohron asked jurors to find Stinnett guilty of both intentional murder and kidnapping.
"He said what he was going to do, he did it and admitted to it," Cohron said.
Jurors will return Friday morning for the penalty phase of the trial.
It will be then that they will determine a proper sentence for Lawrence Stinnett.
Previous
Jury deliberations have begun in the murder and kidnapping trial involving 50-year-old Lawrence Stinnett.
Stinnett is accused of hog-tying Christina Renshaw and beating her to death inside her apartment back in 2006.
If convicted on both charges, Stinnett could face the death penalty.
At 12:30 this afternoon, jurors finished hearing closing arguments from both the defense counsel and the prosecution.
Stinnett, who has acted as lead counsel throughout his trial, asked jurors to take a look at the evidence, but also to look at the lack of evidence in the case.
"I'm not a lawyer," Stinnett told jurors Friday morning. "I chose this avenue because I thought it was in my best interest to get the truth out."
Stinnett has admitted to kicking Renshaw during the attack, but told a jury his role wouldn't support sub arachnoid hemorrhage, which was determined to be Renshaw's official cause of death.
Stinnett told jurors the attack was brought on by extreme emotional distress.
Referring to it as "EED," Stinnett says a phone call where he allegedly heard Renshaw having sex with other men, prompted him to drive 11-hours from Oklahoma City, to her apartment in Bowling Green.
Vince Yustas, Stinnett's co-counsel, told jurors the case should render a not guilty verdict, or nothing more than first-degree manslaughter.
Warren County Commonwealth Attorney Chris Cohron asked jurors to find Stinnett guilty of intentional murder and kidnapping.
"He (Stinnett) said what he was going to do, he did it and he admitted to it," Cohron said during closing arguments.
The task at hand for jurors is now deciding if Stinnett is not guilty or guilty of one of the following: intentional murder, wanton murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter or wreckless homicide.
Jurors will also decide if Stinnett is not guilty or guilty of either kidnapping or unlawful imprisonment.
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