Murder defendant's uncle testifies for the prosecution

Oct. 10, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

PALMER - Christopher Kevan's uncle testified that his nephew spoke to his uncle in conversational tones, not in shock, as the two met outside the apartment where Kevan's girlfriend and their baby lay strangled in bed.

Steven Kevan, uncle to the accused murderer, was the state's last witness in Christopher Kevan's murder trial Monday.

Steven Kevan had been in law enforcement in Oregon before moving to Alaska, and he was the man the defendant's stunned father called after his son showed him the bodies of Brandie Burns, 26, and Ashton Burns, 7 weeks.

On Oct. 26, 2005, Steven went to Kevan's downstairs Bogard Road apartment, using his previous training to make sure no one else got hurt.

He offered his help to Alaska State Troopers, and on Nov. 3, Steven Kevan spoke with his nephew in jail.

Troopers recorded the

conversation.

Steven Kevan took a day off from his training at the trooper training academy in Sitka to take the stand and talk about the murders and the days that followed.

Steven Kevan took the call about 11 a.m. from his brother and knew &#8220something bad” had happened with his nephew.

&#8220He was uneasy and upset,” Steven Kevan said.

&#8220Not in a way I ever heard before. He said something like, ‘Chris had done it. He'd killed them both.'”

Mike Kevan had left the apartment in shock when he called, and Steven Kevan had a vague idea where Burns and his nephew lived.

When he called on his cell phone on the drive over from Church Road, Christopher Kevan answered the phone and calmly gave directions.

Then Christopher Kevan stepped outside and met his uncle at the front door, just as the older man asked him to do.

&#8220I asked him to stay outside,” Steven Kevan said. &#8220I wasn't sure what happened or when. He was calm. He talked just like he talked before.”

Steven Kevan went into the apartment where he'd never been, calling Brandie's name. He saw Brandie Burns, a woman he'd met six or seven times, on the bed in the back bedroom. She was stiff, cold and had no pulse.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he looked for the son he knew she had.

&#8220That was the first time I ever saw him,” he said. &#8220Only the top of his head was sticking out. I had to move some covers. He also was cold and stiff.”

Steven Kevan retraced his steps, found his nephew sitting on the stairs to the upstairs apartment and explained he had to call the troopers, talking to him to keep him at ease. He told his nephew what to do when troopers arrived so no one else would get hurt. Although trooper testimony said Lt. Rick Roberts arrived about five minutes after Steven Kevan's 911 call, time passed differently for the two men outside the apartment.

&#8220It seemed like forever,” Steven Kevan said.

During their taped conversation in jail, Christopher Kevan was matter of fact when he told his uncle he should have killed him.

&#8220It would have been easier on me,” Christopher Kevan said on the tape, played in court.

Steven Kevan repeatedly asked the two questions everyone wanted answered: why and how.

Christopher Kevan gave little information, other than it happened suddenly, he watched himself do it, and it wasn't something he normally would do.

&#8220She was messing with me too much,” Christopher Kevan said on the tape. &#8220She just went too far this time.”

He messed up by actually touching her, he said, by grabbing her neck. He had to go through with it, he said.

&#8220The thing is, towards the end, she got a smile on her face and relaxed,” Christopher Kevan said on the tape. &#8220I stopped, but I knew I f—-ed them up too bad, so I finished it. It got to the point I wasn't even p—-ed. I was sad I had to do it.”

He almost didn't feel guilty about it, he said, and he didn't want any money, although he could probably get a book deal.

Jail wasn't even punishment, Christopher Kevan said.

&#8220It's free living,” he said. &#8220Ain't no damn stress in here at all. I don't have to worry about feeding the wife and kid or getting to work on time. I have more peace of mind than any of you. I'm probably more content than anyone.”

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.