From Deseret News archives:
Split verdict surprises and stuns the Killpacks
Jury convicts mother but acquits father in girl's death
After a 3 1/2-week trial, it took a Provo jury almost six hours Tuesday to find Jennete Killpack, 29, guilty of killing her 4-year-old daughter in June 2002. Richard Killpack was found not guilty.
The split verdict surprised Utah County prosecutors, who told the eight-member jury that Richard Killpack, 37, was equally culpable of child abuse homicide because he helped his wife force water down their adopted daughter's throat on June 9, 2002. Cassandra Killpack died later that night of what medical personnel classified as forced water intoxication, which caused her brain to swell and the sodium in her body to drop to fatal levels.
The Springville couple, who have four other children, left the courtroom without speaking to reporters. Jennete Killpack, who will be sentenced Dec. 7, could serve up to 15 years in prison.
"Maybe she's too honest for her own good," her lawyer, Michael Esplin, said after the verdict. Esplin said prior acts that Jennete Killpack admitted to during a police interview — including choking her daughter and pushing her against a toilet, both of which caused bruises — may have been a factor in the jury's decision.
The admission of those acts as evidence during the trial may be grounds for appeal, but Esplin said it's too early to say what he will do next, or whether his client wants another trial.
Shelden Carter, Richard Killpack's lawyer, called his client's victory "the worst win" of his legal career.
"I've never felt so bad in winning, ever," he said. "This is sad. It's a sad case."
The prosecution seemed pleased with the verdict, even though as Utah County deputy attorney Sherry Ragan said, "It doesn't bring the girl back."
Jury members left without speaking to reporters. Prior to closing arguments earlier Tuesday, 4th District Judge Claudia Laycock told the jury a guilty verdict would mean Cassandra Killpack's death was the result of reckless and willful child abuse.
The jury did not have to find that the Killpacks meant to kill their daughter, prosecutors said, only that they abused her with reckless disregard for the consequences.
Ragan described the final moments of the little girl's life as torture.
"She was struggling for breath. Her arms were tied behind her. She was gritting her teeth as her parents tried to force more water down her," she said.
Medical experts for the prosecution testified during the trial that Cassandra Killpack was made to drink as much as a gallon of water and that the force-feeding began about six hours before paramedics responded to the Killpacks' home, where they found the 4-year-old near death.
