Published: November 04, 2009 09:37 am      

Begley murder charges go to jury

By Carl Keith Greene / Staff Writer

Late Tuesday night, a Laurel County jury was deliberating the fate of Kenneth Ray Begley, 30, charged in the death of Ed Eversole on Oct. 15, 2008.

The jury was given the case at 8 p.m. to begin deliberations.

The trial opened Monday in Laurel Circuit Court. Opening arguments from Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele alleged that Eversole was shot by Begley that evening last year in the Eversole family room.

Eversole had allegedly been shot by Begley with a 16-gauge shotgun twice and also with a 9 mm pistol once. He was also alleged to have been struck in the head by the stock of the shotgun.

Begley’s lawyer, Michael Brophy, argued that the day of Ed Eversole’s death, he had become threatening to Begley and Begley was defending himself when Eversole had come back to the home after leaving for a while.

Testimony on Tuesday came from law enforcement agents who had interviewed Begley the night of the incident including KSP Detective Millard Root, who interviewed Begley at St. Joseph hospital in London after his arrest.

Begley had been taken there for a blood sample to be taken and because he had been reportedly struck in the face with an ashtray that was broken over his head.

Recordings of Root’s interview with Begley, as well as a recording of an interview with Sheriff’s Detective Charles Loomis, were played for the court in the morning.

Judy Eversole, Ed Eversole’s widow, testified after the lunch break.

She told how Begley, a great nephew, had been brought to their home at East Bernstadt soon after he was born and had become so like a child of theirs that he had turned to calling them Mom and Dad. She estimated that Begley had lived in their home periodically about half his life, and at about the time of the incident, had been there for four or five months.

She said the day of the incident Ed Eversole had seemed “fine, not upset or angry.”

The incident seemingly began after Ed Eversole, who kept track of the 30 milligram oxycontin tablets that Judy Eversole took as painkillers following surgery.

Ed Eversole had gotten the oxycontin from the place it was stored and produced some tablets for Judy. He counted them and, deciding some were missing, accused Begley of stealing some, Judy Eversole said in her testimony.

She said the two got into a fight and “Ed straddled Begley on the couch in the family room next to where she was seated and began beating him with an ashtray that eventually broke over Begley’s head.

Begley’s face was injured and a tooth was broken.

Then, she said, her husband got up from the couch to visit neighbors.

Because the oxycontin was apparently making her sleepy she went to lie on the couch in the home’s living room where, she said, she went to sleep to be awakened by a shotgun blast.

She went to the family room where, she said, she saw her husband had been shot. “Lord, God, what have you done?” she reported saying.

She said she saw Begley in the middle of the room take another shot at Ed Eversole who by that time was on the floor leaning against the couch with his head thrown back, trying to get up.

Judy Eversole also said she saw Begley grab the shotgun by the barrel and swing the gun’s stock in Ed Eversole’s direction, striking him on the head.

She said she retreated to the living room in an attempt to find a phone and call the 911 dispatch center.

On cross examination by Brophy, Judy Evesole admitted that Ed Eversole had been cruel with her and Begley.

She said of Ed Eversole, some days “he got mad.” Sometimes he had a bad temper. Some days he was nice and some days he lost his temper, she added.

She admitted to Brophy that in one instance he had poured hot coffee over her head and another time he whipped her with jumper cables.

Asked about Ed Eversole’s history of violence, she said Begley had not fought back because he feared more violence.

After the Commonwealth’s case ended, Brophy put Begley on the stand as his only witness.

Begley opened his testimony telling that he had cooked, cleaned, done laundry and other chores for the two he called mom and dad.

Begley described Ed Eversole’s moods as one day he was nice and the next day he was bad.

He would get, “mad over little things,” Begley said.

Eversole would call him “stupid a lot,” Begley said.

At one point after cooking, Begley said, he had poured grease from preparing fish into a container with other grease and Eversole had thrown the grease in Begley’s face.

His life among the Eversoles had been a life of avoiding conflicts with Ed Eversole, Begley said.

The incident over the oxycontin pills, Begley said, developed into a real problem when Eversole struck him with the ashtray after first smacking his face, Begley said.

After Judy warned them to not fight, Ed left the home and Judy went to the other room to sleep.

Fifteen to 20 minutes later, Begley said, Ed returned with a knife in his hand, walked up to Begley and hit him under the chin.

Begley said he pushed Eversole back to the middle of the room, got a shotgun that had been nearby and stepped back pointing the weapon at Eversole.

Begley said Eversole told him, “You drew the gun, you better use it.”

“I fired,” Begley testified.

A 16-gauge round of bird shot hit Eversole, Begley said. Eversole bent over and nearly went to his knees. Begley pulled the trigger a second time and got only a click. He ejected the bad round and shot again. This time a 16-gauge slug struck Eversole, Begley said.

Begley continued that Eversole said he was heading for his car to get the 9 mm pistol he kept in the glove compartment.

Begley said he took the shotgun by the barrel, swung it and struck Eversole in the head with the stock.

Begley said he got the pistol from the Cadillac about six feet from the door of the home and shot Eversole.

(Monday, medical examiner Crystal Roth testified that the 9 mm shot was probably the fatal shot because it entered just above Eversole’s right nipple, went through the heart sac, into the lower left lung, exited in the left side of the body and lodged in the left arm against the humerus bone.)

By then Judy Eversole had entered the room, Begley said. He told her to call 911 and she left the room seeking the phone.

Begley said he committed the act because, “I was terrified of him. I’ve seen whip my mom and brothers and sisters for years.”

He continued, “ I was not trying to kill him. ... I just wanted to be left alone.