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Thursday, March 17, 2005
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NO PERFECT MURDER? TO PARAPHRASE MISS PRISM… ….this seems to me an imperfect murder of an extremely obvious kind… ‘ LAWRENCE, Kan. - Kansas State University professor Thomas E. Murray was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder in the death of his former wife. Douglas County jurors deliberated for two days before announcing they had a verdict about 9:20 a.m. Thursday. Murray, 48, of Manhattan, was convicted of killing his former wife, Carmin D. Ross, 40, on Nov. 13, 2003, at her two-story farmhouse north of Lawrence. She was bludgeoned and stabbed to death. Murray showed no obvious emotion when the verdict was announced. Some of Ross' family members including her grandmother, Malta Ross, began crying. Ross' fiance, Larry Lima, reached over and grabbed the shoulder of Ross' father, Danny Ross. Douglas County District Judge Robert Fairchild said Murray will be sentenced in 45 days after a presentence investigation. He faces a sentence of life in prison with a possibility of parole in 25 years. After the verdict was announced, Kansas State fired Murray. "In light of Professor Thomas Murray's conviction, Kansas State University has taken him off its payroll, effective immediately," said a statement from Richard Seaton, an attorney for the university. "His employment with the university is terminated." Prosecutors said Murray killed Ross partly because he was afraid he might lose custody of their 4-year-old daughter. Ross had been planning to move to California, where Lima lived. Murray and Ross shared custody of their daughter after their divorce and were mediating custody issues at the time of her death. Defense attorneys argued that Murray was a gentle man saddened by the end of his 18-year marriage. They also said no evidence linked Murray to the crime and suggested Ross was killed by at least two unidentified people. After the verdict was announced, Lima's eyes filled with tears as he said the verdict "still is not enough to bring her back." "This part is done and now comes the real work - caring for the daughter in an environment of love," he said. Defense attorney Bob Eye said it was too early to determine if the conviction will be appealed. Another defense attorney, Pedro Irigonegaray, said Murray was disappointed and sad about the verdict. "He's doing well and will continue to do what he can to establish his innocence," Irigonegaray said. Assistant District Attorney Angela Wilson acknowledged that the case was based primarily on circumstantial evidence but said "it all added up and pointed to him." "Once again we proved there is no perfect murder," she said. Two jurors said the group had voted Wednesday, with most voting for guilty. They decided to go home and vote again Thursday morning. "We were pretty well decided yesterday and we wanted to sleep on it," said Ted Kihm, 44, of Lawrence. Kihm and juror Robert Wagner, 42, of Lawrence, said no single piece of evidence convinced the jury of Murray's guilt. But Kihm said a 9 1/2-hour video of Murray being questioned by investigators was "extremely important testimony." "We couldn't get any of the defense points to stick," Kihm said. "They were contradicted by the facts." While Kihm and Wagner were talking to the media, Ross' father, Danny Ross, and other family members approached, shook their hands, hugged them and thanked them. "We are so thankful the jury took their time," Ross said. "I think they did a wonderful job. As a family we're relieved but it won't bring our daughter back. It gives us our granddaughter, which we will raise." The child has been living with Ross' family since Murray was arrested last year.’ |