death penalty news
October 19, 2004
CONNECTICUT:
Mills escapes death penalty
Jonathan Mills, who stabbed his former aunt and her two young children to
death in Guilford, escaped the death penalty Monday.
Mills, 31, who appeared nervous as he waited for the Superior Court jury's
decision, hugged his attorneys when the verdict was announced. He clasped
his hands before him and looked up toward the ceiling, smiled and said he
wanted to call his mother.
Mills stands convicted of three counts of capital felony for the murders
and will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of
parole. His formal sentencing before Superior Court Judge Jon Blue is
scheduled for Jan. 21.
The 12-member jury appeared calm as the verdict was announced, though at
least one juror wiped tears away. Jurors ultimately found that Mills' drug
addiction, childhood abuse, and his willingness to take responsibility for
the deaths outweighed his criminal history and the heinous nature of the
crimes.
The verdict came after slightly more than five full days of deliberations.
Mills murdered Katherine "Kitty" Kleinkauf, who was divorced from Mills'
uncle, and her two children, Rachael Crum, 6, and Kyle Redway, 4, in their
Guilford home Dec. 27, 2000.
Mills entered Kleinkauf's bedroom with two knives, intending to take her
ATM card to get money to buy drugs. He stabbed Kleinkauf 46 times when she
awakened and confronted him. The children, who had been sleeping in the
same bed, awakened and began screaming. Mills stabbed each child six times.
While several of the victims' loved ones traveled from out of state to
attend the majority of the trial, they weren't in court Monday for the
verdict. Kleinkauf's sister, Nancy Filiault of New Hampshire, was
unavailable for comment Monday.
Public Defender Thomas Ullmann said he is "totally relieved" by the
verdict. He noted that Mills was willing to plead guilty back in January in
exchange for a life sentence, the same penalty jurors supported.
"We stand here in the same place," Ullmann said. "We have wasted an
incredible amount of taxpayer money on this case. He didn't want the
victims' families to go through this.
"He was willing to take the most severe penalty short of the death
sentence," Ullmann said. "The money spent pursuing a death sentence against
Mills could have been used on drug treatment programs to help prevent such
cases."
Prosecutor Michael Dearington said it was appropriate to pursue the death
penalty in this case.
"I respect the jury's verdict," Dearington said.
The jury determined that the state did prove the two aggravating factors
alleged, including that Mills committed the offense during the commission
of a felony he had previously been convicted of, or third-degree burglary.
They also found that the murders were committed in an especially heinous,
cruel and depraved manner.
The defense claimed several mitigating factors, such as significant mental
impairment at the time of the killings because of drug use, an abusive
family background, and Mills' remorse and willingness to take responsibility.
Jurors concluded that the defense did not prove the mental impairment
factor. However, the group did find that some of the other mitigating
factors were proven. They did not elaborate on their verdict form.
Lois Cody, jury foreperson, called the jury a "wonderful group of caring
people." Cody and other jurors reached Monday declined to discuss their
verdict.
Attorney Barry Butler, who also represented Mills, said Mills' mother
Georgianna, who testified during the trial, cried on the phone when they
told her that her son's life will be spared.
"Our hearts go out to the victims' family members," Butler said. "The real
winners are the taxpayers, who will save money because there won't be years
of appeals."
Mills also confessed to strangling Mindy Leigh, 20, to death at the
Guilford Fairgrounds in October of 2000. Charges against Mills for Leigh's
death are pending.
Mills only faced a possible death sentence with the triple homicide,
because more than one person was killed in a single incident, and because
two children were killed.
Prosecutors couldn't use the Leigh case as an aggravating factor because
Mills hadn't been convicted of the Leigh killing at the time of the
December 2000 triple homicide.
Bruce Leigh of Texas, Mindy's father, responded to the news with, "What are
they thinking?"
"He murdered four people in cold blood," Leigh said. "He tried to blame
drugs, but you are responsible for what you do. So the state will pay taxes
so he can watch television, eat and never have to work."
Mindy's mother, Cynthia Smith, also of Texas, said she is glad Mills is off
the streets and can't hurt anyone else. She plans to travel here when court
officials prosecute Mills for Mindy's death.
"I feel he should have gotten the death penalty for killing several
people," she said.
(source: New Haven Register)
