Defendant Takes the Stand in Murder Trial

After a day off because of almost 11 inches of snow, the murder and arson trial of Keith Griffith resumed Tuesday at the McCracken County courthouse, and the star witness was the defendant himself.

Judge Tim Kaltenbach thanked the jurors for their dedication, and for showing up on time. Some drove themselves to the courthouse, but others were picked up by county employees.

After a few witnesses testified, Keith Griffith took the stand, and portrayed a normal family relationship with a wife, with whom he enjoyed playing golf, his job experience on the road, which he described as very lonely, and his eventual relationship with Deanna Jaynes, with whom he said he wanted to be "friends with benefits." He said he initially lied to investigators because he was ashamed of where he was on the night his wife was murdered. After testifying about some of the Commonwealth's evidence against him, Griffith was asked by defense attorney Mark Bryant how he felt today about the events of December 16-17, 2014.

Griffith: "I'm still embarrassed and ashamed of all of it."
Bryant: "Did you kill your wife?"
Griffith: "No sir, I loved my wife."
Bryant: "Did you burn that house down, Keith?"
Griffith: "No sir."
Bryant: "Did you kill those dogs?"
Griffith: "No, I loved those dogs."
Bryant: "Did you destroy any kind of evidence against you in this case, other than some rags you threw away?"
Griffith: "No sir."

During cross-examination, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Jim Harris repeatedly asked Griffith about lies he told to Jaynes, friends, investigators, and even his own attorney during an initial interview. Griffith acknowledged numerous times that he lied, hoping that he would not have to reveal what he called his "double life," even though it could have been investigated as his alibi. Harris asked Griffith why he lied to McCracken County Sheriff's Detective Matt Carter, even after he knew foul play was involved, and he might be a suspect.

"Because at that point I did not really think I was a suspect, I had been doing things that I was embarrassed about doing while I was...while my wife was being killed, and nobody in my family, none of my friends knew what I did, and I didn't want it out, and I knew they would catch the right person," Griffith said.

Harris asked if Griffith took cash and other items from the home, pawning some of them so that they would be out of the home at the time of the crime. Griffith said no, adding that he regularly pawned items from time to time. Harris also asked why Griffith had a large amount of ammo for guns he owned, and also had 1,050 rounds of .45 ammo but didn't have a .45 caliber gun. Griffith said it was an investment, since he felt President Obama was trying to limit gun owners' access to ammunition. Julie Griffith was shot several times with a .45 caliber weapon before the fire, but detectives could not find a murder weapon or other hard evidence that her husband was in town at the time.

Earlier testimony included a character witness who knew the Griffiths because of their membership at Westwood and Silos country club, a private investigator, and a local body shop owner, who said in spite of 50 years of experience and knowledge, he cannot say if the SUV in the surveillance videos is Griffith's, or even a similar make and model vehicle.

Leigh Ann Castleman from Westwood Country Club, and later Silos Golf and Country Club, testified about how she used to pair couples together when they didn't have a complete foursome. She said typically men didn't play with their wives, but when they did that meant they really enjoyed their time spent together. She said sometimes she would pair up couples using someone she knew well, because she knew she could trust them. She said Keith and Julie Griffith were one of those couples. "They were good Christian people, I knew they would leave a good impression." Castleman said.

Private investigator Phil Lewzader testified that he went to the location where surveillance cameras (used as part of the prosecution's case) were located, and took a friend. He stood below the camera and tried to determine where a vehicle driven through the camera's range had turned. He said it was very difficult due to the curvy roads in the subdivision.

Local body shop owner Larry Meadows testified for the defense, and said that after looking at videos and still photographs of surveillance in the Griffith's neighborhood, he could not determine the make or model of the vehicle based on the photographs.

During cross-examination, the Commonwealth Attorney's Office asked Meadows if he had been given the complete picture of the investigation, including surveillance video from the hotel where Griffith supposedly stayed. Meadows said he knew nothing of that, all he was asked to do was identify video and photographs and compare them to Griffith's vehicle.

Following Griffith's testimony, his son Aaron took the stand, corroborating testimony of several witnesses, including his father. He portrayed his parents' relationship as "normal," discussed how they loved his wife and two children, and mentioned his dad's typical route home, which did not include the street shown in surveillance video evidence by the prosecution. In fact, he said he and his father had discussed and disagreed on the quickest or best way home.

The defense rested their case Tuesday, so closing arguments will be presented to the jury Wednesday. The 15-member jury will be reduced to 12 by drawing lots, and deliberations will begin.