Defendant takes the stand

Oct. 10, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

PALMER - The defendant who repeatedly interrupted others during his murder trial spoke in a whisper during his own testimony, saying he couldn't hear or understand questions about why he killed.

Christopher A. Kevan, 25, chose to testify and then refused to cooperate, according to Richard Payne, assistant district attorney.

Payne requested Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler strike Kevan's testimony and instruct jurors to take no notice of the six references Kevan whispered hoarsely about his mental health.

&#8220The defendant feigned deafness, feigned misunderstanding,” Payne said after jurors left the court room. &#8220He can, if he chooses, be absolutely lucid. He's doing an end run around the law to prove he's unfit for trial. And he violated a court order to not speak about his mental health.”

Dianne Foster, Kevan's public defender, said her client did understand he wasn't to bring up any mental-health issues, saying she spoke with him about it last week. However, the court shouldn't strike his testimony, she said.

&#8220He has a right to testify,” Foster said. &#8220It's the jury's decision what to do with that. Jurors are a group of people who can discern which questions he responded to. That's their job.”

Cutler decided to listen to the court's recording of Kevan's testimony, with the jury out of the courtroom, to see how much of the accused murderer's rambling whispers were audible. So spectators, victims and officers of the court twice heard Kevan's approximately half hour testimony laced with profanities, rhythmic tapping on the microphone, denials of knowing how his girlfriend and their infant son were strangled last year - and his burp.

They also twice heard Kevan allege his stepbrother most likely murdered Brandie and Ashton Burns, that his uncle, Steven Kevan, planned with him to bury their bodies, but then, &#8220police tackled me and I got maced.”

Connie Burns, mother and grandmother of the slain pair, left the courtroom in tears about five minutes into the second go-around.

&#8220He's making a mockery of this,” Burns said.

The judge said the recording was much more audible and the jurors probably could hear 90 percent more of Kevan's testimony than when he spoke from the witness stand. Cutler denied Payne's motions. She said she would tell jurors about the improved audio quality and offer to let them listen again before going further with the trial.

When asked whether they wanted to listen again, not a single juror raised a hand.

With Kevan's testimony finished, the attorneys and the judge discussed jury instruction for the remainder of the afternoon.

Closing statements are scheduled for this morning, and jurors will begin deliberations on the two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder facing Kevan.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com