Feb. 24 INDIANA: Death penalty possible for triple murder suspect Triple murder suspect Kenneth Allen told reporters he deserved the death penalty just days after his arrest. But after a judge made the death penalty possibility official, Allen refused comment repeatedly. The 29-year-old reportedly confessed to killing his mother and grandparents. St. Charles, Missouri authorities arrested Allen and his 18-year-old sister Kari. Indianapolis Police found the three bodies buried in concrete at the grandparents' home. Police also collected evidence from the mother's Noblesville apartment, evidence attorneys for both Kari and Kenneth Allen are still learning about. Eric Koselke is Kenneth Allen's lawyer. "Don't know a lot about the evidence yet. Look forward to working on the case. It's going to be a lot of work." Mark Inman is Kari's lawyer. "The length of time between the first death and the arrests probably gives our eyes to more evidence than a normal case where someone is apprehended quickly." Defense attorneys and prosecutors say getting ready for trial will be anything but quick, especially since they plan to set a trial date for sometime in 2007. Marion County Deputy Prosecutor David Wyser says, "The court had already set a pretrial and trial date and those dates would transfer with this case, however those dates are unrealistic given the nature of the charges." Prosecutors filed 3 different requests for the death penalty against Kenneth Allen. Kari faces 3 felony murder charges and conspiracy to commit murder. Inman says he doesn't yet know what her defense will be. "There is so many things to look at, things to talk to her about. Obviously the investigation was very lengthy and involve very many people." And some of those people include the deputies in Missouri who the brother and sister first told their story. (source: WTHR News) ARIZONA: Supreme Court upholds death sentence In Phoenix, the Arizona Supreme Court today upheld a man's murder conviction and death sentence in the murder-for-hire of a Chandler man suspected of being an informer. The court unanimously upheld Albert Martinez Carreon's murder conviction and death sentence in the January 2001 fatal shooting of Armando Hernandez in his apartment. Prosecutors presented evidence that an associate of Carreon suspected Hernandez of informing on the associate's brother. Evidence also indicated that Carreon was broke before the killing but had one-thousand dollars in his pockets when arrested the next day outside the associate's home. (source: Associated Press) SOUTH CAROLINA: Man Convicted of Killing Parents Rejects Death Sentence Appeal In York, a Rock Hill man convicted of killing his parents 7 years ago told a judge that he does not want to appeal his death sentence to the South Carolina Supreme Court. James Robertson, 31, spoke during a hearing Tuesday to determine whether he is competent to withdraw the appeal. Robertson, an Eagle Scout with 2 years of college, told the judge his guilt has never been in question. He told The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer that spending 60 years in prison would be much worse than being executed. "It's better to live life as best you can in here and then to die," he said, "than to suffer for 60 years." Robertson, who has been on death row for six years, murdered his parents Earl and Terry Robertson in their Rock Hill home two days before Thanksgiving 1997. According to court testimony, Robertson cut his mother's throat and repeatedly stabbed her with a kitchen knife while she lay in bed. He beat his father with a claw hammer and a baseball bat. Prosecutors portrayed Robertson as self-centered and obsessed with getting rid of his parents so he and his brother could inherit their $2.2 million estate. Defense attorneys said a dangerous mix of mental illness and drugs led Robertson to kill. In court Tuesday, Robertson said he is being treated for manic depression and takes three medications. But he said he understands the consequences of what he wants to do. Judge John Hayes didn't rule Tuesday and didn't say when he will make a decision. (source: Associated Press)
