Staff Report
The murder trial involving the death of an elderly Frakes man is set to begin today.
Deborah Partin, Candy Nicole Maiden, Jeremy C. Evans and Brian Hatfield are all charged in the alleged 2008 slaying of William Taylor. Each individual pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The indictments on the four individuals were handed down two years ago alleging that on Jan. 15, 2008, the suspects committed murder by beating and/or striking the 92-year-old man or conspired to cause the man’s death by aiding, counseling or attempting to aid one or others in the crime.
Taylor was brutally beaten during the robbery of his home in the early morning hours. After the robbers fled, Taylor walked more than 100 yards to the nearest neighbor’s house for help.
Taylor was sent to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was initially admitted to the Intensive Care unit. Taylor’s condition was briefly upgraded to stable before being downgraded and his injuries claimed his life approximately one week after the attack.
Evans was the first to be arrested in connection with the Taylor murder. Partin was the second.
Hatfield and Maiden followed, being arrested on the same day. The suspects were arrested by Kentucky State Police following an investigation by Trooper Tyson Lawson and Trooper Mitch Williams, before his retirement.
The trial was originally set for for August 9, 2011. At one point, attorney Samuel Cox, Maiden’s attorney, attempted to have the case dismissed. Most recently, Cox filed a motion of discovery involving statements made against Maiden.
Cox’s motion was made in an attempt to exclude statements allegedly made by co-defendants in the case. According to the document, if the statements are permitted to be introduced at trial, it will violate the defendant’s rights guaranteed by the Confrontation Clauses of the Sixth Amendment.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Costanzo did not rule on the motion, but stated he would issue a ruling in writing.
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