jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601
DURHAM -- The judge presiding over the first-degree murder trial for Keith Kidwell on Friday told jurors he had some good news and some bad news.
"The good news is the case is coming to an end. The bad news is it's not today," Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson said.
Jurors sighed when he said that.
The trial resumes today. The men and women who will decide whether Kidwell gets life in prison without the possibility of parole have been watching District Attorney Tracey Cline since late September pile on evidence to convince them that the 25-year-old in February 2005 killed Crayton Nelms at the 4604 N. Roxboro St. Kangaroo location. Nelms was 44 and working the overnight shift at the store.
Defense lawyer Lisa Williams hasn't said whether she'll introduce evidence in this case. She doesn't have to, because the burden of proof is on the state.
Cline has worked to link Kidwell to the murder by pointing out that both his and the victim's DNA were found on at least one of the shoes she said belonged to the defendant. And after Nelms' pickup truck was stolen from the crime scene, Kidwell was behind the wheel in it in Oklahoma after getting stopped for speeding, said Cline, who had the highway patrolman who arrested Kidwell testify in front of the jury.
The judge offered another bit of good news when announcing that a juror who serves as a non-faculty head basketball coach for a Durham Public Schools middle school will be able to make it to the first day of tryouts today.
But the judge followed that with some more bad news. Hudson said the coach more than likely wouldn't make it to tryouts Tuesday and possibly later in the week because he'd need him around for potential deliberation toward a verdict.
"We're almost finished. I know I said that before," Hudson told jurors. "Work with me."
The coach thanked the judge for trying to help him out with his situation.
