Also See:
NWI Times
January 31, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/illinois/ex-northwestern-indiana-officer-convicted-in-woman-s-death/article_72c1a8cd-1f27-52c8-91dc-a728385620a5.html
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A former northwestern Indiana police officer has been convicted of murder in the death of the mother of three of his children.
A jury returned the verdict in the case Tuesday of 33-year-old Kevin Campbell in Valparaiso. Sentencing is scheduled for April 6. Campbell testified in his own defense during the trial, saying he had nothing to do with the slaying. His lawyers plan to appeal.
Tiara Thomas was found bleeding in November 2015 inside her Portage apartment and later died at a hospital. Authorities have said phone records indicated Campbell and the 30-year-old Thomas argued over nearly $1,500 in child support he paid and that creditors were calling him.
Campbell formerly was a Gary officer and was fired by the Hammond Police Department days after Thomas' body was discovered.
Ex-Police Officer Convicted in Woman's Death
WBIW - 1340 AM News
January 31, 2018
(VALPARAISO) - A former northwestern Indiana police officer has been convicted of murder in the death of the mother of three of his children.
A jury returned the verdict in the case Tuesday of 33-year-old Kevin Campbell in Valparaiso. Sentencing is scheduled for April 6. Campbell testified in his own defense during the trial, saying he had nothing to do with the slaying. His lawyers plan to appeal.
Tiara Thomas was found bleeding in November 2015 inside her Portage apartment and later died at a hospital. Authorities have said phone records indicated Campbell and the 30-year-old Thomas argued over nearly $1,500 in child support he paid and that creditors were calling him.
Campbell formerly was a Gary officer and was fired by the Hammond Police Department days after Thomas' body was discovered.
UPDATE: Former Gary and Hammond cop found guilty of murdering mother of three of his children
NWI Times
January 30, 2018
VALPARAISO — Former Gary and Hammond police officer Kevin Campbell showed no reaction when it was announced Tuesday afternoon that a jury found him guilty of murdering the mother of three of his children just more than two years ago.
The mother of the 30-year-old murder victim, Tiara Thomas, sobbed aloud in the courtroom after the verdict was read by Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.
The jury had deliberated for three hours.
"We're pleased that it came back guilty," said Herbert Smith Jr., who is an uncle to Thomas.
"All involved did an excellent job," he said.
Portage Police Chief Troy Williams said, "We hope this verdict can offer some measure of closure for Tiara's family. We are thankful for the efforts of the officers and prosecutors involved in this case and thank the jury for their time and dedication to the trial."
Campbell, who will remain in jail without bond, is scheduled to be sentenced at 1 p.m. April 6.
Following closing arguments earlier in the day, jurors were left to decide whether Thomas was killed as a result of a well-planned ambush by Campbell or during a struggle with an unknown attacker.
"This man is who happened to Tiara Thomas," Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost said while pointing at 33-year-old Campbell during closing arguments in the 10-day murder trial.
"Her death was the only answer," he said.
Prosecutors have argued Campbell repeatedly shot Thomas at her Portage apartment during the early morning hours of Nov. 18, 2015, in part, to get out of paying $355 a week in child support creating a "financial quagmire" that already had resulted in his vehicle being repossessed, his mortgage payments falling behind and numerous bill collectors hounding him on his cellphone.
The security system at Campbell's Hobart home showed his front door opened at 3:25 a.m. on the day of the shooting and was opened again at 5:55 a.m., Frost said. Thomas had sent a text to her fiance at 4:48 a.m. and was found shot when he returned home from work shortly before 7:30 a.m.
Campbell's cellphone connected with a tower near Thomas' apartment at 5:34 a.m. the same morning, Frost said.
Campbell also had the children stay at his home the night before the killing and had never done that on a school night before, Frost said.
Defense attorney Susan Severtson called the case against Campbell a rush to judgment by police and said there is no physical evidence linking her client to the shooting.
She held up photos of the shooting scene and told jurors there clearly had been a struggle, contrary to the surprise ambush portrayed by prosecutors. She said there were laundry detergent bottles near the apartment door and the door was unlocked, which gives the appearance Thomas was up early doing laundry when someone attacked her.
No one saw Campbell at Thomas' apartment on the morning in question, she said. The defense has argued that Campbell's home doors were opening and closing overnight because he and his wife were placing diapers outside from an ill child.
Severtson also challenged the cellphone evidence used against Campbell, saying there were 39 cellphone towers near Thomas' apartment and only one reportedly picked up his phone.
"It never happened," she said.
Severtson dismissed the alleged financial motive for the shooting by saying Campbell's response to the increased child support payments was to work second and third jobs, not to murder Thomas.
Jury finds ex-cop guilty of murdering ex-girlfriend in Portage
Chicago Tribune
January 30, 2018
Former police officer Kevin Campbell was found guilty Tuesday in the 2015 murder of the mother of his children.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours Tuesday in Campbell's murder trial at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso.
A burst of emotion came from family and friends of Tiara Thomas as Judge Roger Bradford read the verdict. Most let out sighs and cried, and one woman wept into her lap.
"We were just praying that he didn't get away with it," Herbert Smith Jr., Thomas' uncle, said.
Campbell, 33, was convicted of fatally shooting 30-year-old Thomas, his ex-girlfriend, Nov. 18, 2015, at her Portage apartment she shared with her fiance, Marqtell Robinson.
Smith said he and his family were "relieved" and filled with "happiness," thanking the jury for its verdict.
"This did not need to happen," Smith said.
Campbell is set to be sentenced April 6. Susan Marie Severtson, one of Campbell's defense attorneys, said they will "absolutely" appeal.
"We think the jury got it wrong," Severtson said.
Campbell was "drowning financially" in the months leading up to Thomas' death, prosecutors said. His car was repossessed, he had 30 calls from bill collectors on his cellphone and he just paid for a wedding to his wife, Alicia Campbell, Matthew Frost, prosecuting attorney, said.
To add on to all that, Campbell's child support payments to Thomas "nearly doubled" to roughly $1,500 a month in June 2015 when he left the Gary police force to work for a better paying job with Hammond police, Frost said.
"The problem has one solution, and that solution is the murder of Tiara Thomas," Frost said.
Campbell was "working like a dog" with overtime and side security jobs to pay his bills, Severtson said.
"Was it hard financially? You bet," Severtson said.
But she said her client " was working as hard as he could, as best as he could, while still being a good father."
"It was not about the money to Kevin," Severston said.
The defense's primary argument was that there were no eyewitnesses or evidence linking Campbell to the murder. No one saw him near Thomas' home and no trace was found of him inside the apartment, Severtson said.
"There isn't any evidence implicating Kevin Campbell to be found," Severtson said.
But prosecutors walked jurors through a timeline that they said shows "everything's consistent" with Campbell killing Thomas.
Thomas' last text to Robinson was at 4:48 a.m., Frost said. Just before 3:30 a.m., Campbell left his home in Hobart, and he returned around 5:55 a.m., as shown by his home alarm system and frequent locations on his iPhone , Frost said.
Between that time frame, Campbell's iPhone pinged a cellphone tower near Thomas' apartment at 5:34 a.m., Frost said.
At 7:27 a.m., Robinson called 911 after finding Thomas shot in her bedroom when he returned home from working a midnight shift, Frost said.
While dropping off his children at school that morning, Kevin Campbell reportedly stopped at a park. The defense said he was throwing away a plastic bag of used tissues, but prosecutors said he was disposing of evidence. No bag was ever found, attorneys said.
In the weeks before the shooting, Campbell asked his son about Robinson's work schedule and told his son to be sure to bring his key to Thomas' apartment with him to Campbell's home. Prosecutors questioned why Campbell did this, while the defense said Campbell was just a concerned parent who wanted to make sure his children could get home safely.
Campbell had his children with him Nov. 17, 2015, at his home in Hobart, the night before Thomas died. It was unusual for Campbell to have his children on a school night, Frost said, but it was "important" to do so that night because "he had to have the kids there to solve his problem."
"How does he do that? He kills the mother of his three children," Frost said.
Former Hammond cop takes the stand, tearfully denies role in ex's shooting death
Post Tribune
January 25, 2018
A sometimes tearful Kevin Campbell told a jury Thursday he was cooperative with Portage police when he was questioned in the hours after his ex-girlfriend's murder, but that had changed when he found out police had removed his oldest son from classes at Willowcreek Middle School in Portage.
"I wanted to be cooperative and give them what they needed so I could get to my children, because they were my No. 1 priority," said Campbell.
Campbell, 33, of Hobart, is charged with murder in the Nov. 18, 2015, death of Tiara Thomas, with whom he shared three children.
"They were still in school," he said, choking back sobs, "I didn't want them to hear what happened from anybody else."
Police told Campbell, a former Hammond police officer, his children were still in school, he said, but he became "furious" when he found out his son had been removed from class.
Under cross-examination from Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost, Campbell said being told something by a police officer means nothing to him because he's been lied to by the police before.
"In fact, you were angry (your son) was with police because you were afraid of what he might be telling them," Frost said.
"Absolutely not," Campbell said.
Under questioning from Susan Severtson, one of his defense attorneys, Campbell denied involvement in Thomas' death.
"Did you have anything to do with the death of Tiara Thomas?" Severtson asked.
"No, ma'am, I did not," Campbell said.
Campbell is the defense's last witness in the third week of the trial at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso. Attorneys are expected to present closing arguments next week.
Campbell is accused of fatally shooting Thomas in the apartment she shared with her fiance in the Park Place apartment complex. Dressed in a black suit, Campbell took breaks to wipe away tears as he answered questions from attorneys.
Campbell and Thomas dated for 14 years, he said, and were high school sweethearts after meeting in middle school.
Campbell said he learned Thomas had been shot after receiving a call from her mother, Lisa Mays. Campbell said he went to Methodist Hospitals Northlake in Gary, where Thomas was taken. When he arrived, his dad was there "shaking his head and crying," Campbell said.
"I knew it was official. She was gone," Campbell said.
He wanted to see Thomas' body, he said, but he was unable to do so.
"It wasn't enough to hear it from somebody, I guess," Campbell said.
Under questioning from Severtson, Campbell said he took his children, who stayed with him at his Hobart home the night before Thomas was killed, to a park in Lake Station to throw out a grocery bag of "snot tissues" from his youngest child on their way to school in Portage.
Campbell said he put the bag in the garbage at the park.
"Did you throw out anything else?" Severtson asked.
"No," Campbell responded.
During cross-examination, Frost said Campbell twice told police he did not make any stops between his home and Willowcreek Middle School.
"That is two lies then, correct?" Frost said.
Campbell said he "simply forgot" about the stop at the park. His response to police, he said, was because of "my state of mind an hour after I found out someone I loved dearly was killed."
Campbell's finances have come up repeatedly during the trial.
Campbell had received voicemails from creditors, and his bank account balance was $7.58, according to court records.
He said in court that money was tight because he had paid for his wedding to Alicia Campbell on July 4, 2015. He admitted he was behind on some bills for car and house payments, but paying child support was not a hardship.
"As everyone else testified to, I did work a lot," Campbell said.
Under questioning from Frost, Campbell said he didn't agree with money he paid for child support going toward other expenses. In a text exchange between Campbell and Thomas about two weeks before the murder, shared by Frost in court, Campbell decried the money going for clothing for Thomas' fiance, Marqtell Robinson.
"It was my desire that my child support payments go to the benefit of my children," Campbell said.
UPDATE: Accused tells jurors he did not murder the mother of their three children
NWI Times
January 25, 2018
VALPARAISO — Former Gary and Hammond police officer Kevin Campbell told jurors Thursday morning he had nothing to do with the Nov. 18, 2015, shooting death of the mother of three of his children at her Portage apartment.
Campbell, 33, occasionally became choked up and wiped tears from his eyes as he spoke for the first time after spending nearly three weeks listening to evidence prosecutors said identify him as the person responsible for murdering 30-year-old Tiara Thomas.
Campbell testified that he learned of the shooting that same morning while returning from taking the couple's three children to school from his Hobart home where they had stayed the night before.
When asked by Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost why he twice refrained from telling police he stopped at a park to dispose of a bag while taking his children to school that morning, Campbell said he had a lot on his mind after learning about the death of his mother's children.
"I simply forgot, that's all," he said.
Campbell said he immediately cooperated with police and agreed to undergo a gunshot residue test on his body, which was never carried out.
Prosecutors have said the couple's relationship had deteriorated to the point of a "contentious breakup" and Campbell's child support obligation was nearly doubled to $355 a week shortly before the killing.
Campbell said he ended the relationship after learning about Thomas' repeated infidelities. He also described her deciding at the last minute not to let their children take part in his wedding to another woman.
He told both his attorney and Frost that the increased child support payments did not pose a financial hardship since he and his wife were working.
While he said he was behind in making car and house payments due to the cost of his wedding, Campbell said he was in the process of resolving his debt.
When Frost questioned him about having 30 tax collector calls on his cell phone and having more than $29,000 of debt in collections, Campbell challenged the figures saying there were only two collectors and $17,000 of the debt was student loans.
Campbell also challenged claims that it was unusual for him to have asked his son to bring him a key to their mother's apartment less than two weeks before the shooting. He said he routinely reminded his son to bring a key so he would not be locked out, even though Frost said on the visit in question it had been arranged to return the children directly to their mother.
Prosecutors have argued that it was unusual for Campbell to take his children overnight during a school week and he confirmed for Frost that he carried through with the visit at the time of the shooting despite being ill with the flu.
Closing arguments in the trial are expected to take place Tuesday morning before Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.
Wife of former Hammond cop charged with ex-girlfriend's murder downplays his alleged money woes
Post Tribune
January 24, 2018
The wife of a former Hammond police officer accused in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, during court testimony Wednesday, disputed prosecutors' claims that he was facing dire financial straits at the time of the killing.
Alicia Campbell testifed before a Porter County jury on behalf of her husband, Kevin Campbell, who's charged with murder stemming from the Nov. 18, 2015 death of Tiara Thomas, the mother of his three children.
At the time of Campbell's arrest, police said the slaying may have been financially motivated. Alicia Campbell, however, downplayed the notion that he was experiencing money woes.
"It wasn't as bad as everyone in the paper is making it seem," Alicia Campbell said.
The defense began presenting its case Wednesday at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso in the third week of Kevin Campbell's murder trial. Campbell, 33, has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Police found the 30-year-old Thomas had been shot in the apartment she shared with her fiance in the Park Place apartment complex. When Kevin Campbell was arrested, Portage police said there may have been a financial motive, as he had received voice mails from creditors and his bank account balance was $7.58, according to court records.
Kevin Campbell also paid monthly child support payments to Thomas for the three children they had together. Alicia Campbell, 24, said that didn't concern her because she was employed and her husband worked side jobs in addition to his duties as a police officer.
"It didn't affect my life," Alicia Campbell said.
While Alicia Campbell said their car had been repossessed, she said she wasn't aware of any bill collectors or debts as she was not in charge of paying their bills.
Alicia Campbell previously refused speaking with prosecutors in the case, Matthew Frost, prosecuting attorney, said, citing marital privilege.
Kevin and Alicia Campbell met in 2013 while he was working for Gary police and she worked at a Denny's restaurant in Gary, she said. She became pregnant the next year and they later married, she testified.
The day Thomas died, Alicia Campbell said, her husband called and was so upset that he was unable to drive. She said she she drove him to the Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary where Thomas was taken.
"He was crying," she said. "He could barely talk."
After that, she testified, investigators spoke with Thomas and went to her family members' homes multiple times, and while she cooperated, it was sometimes an "inconvenience," she said.
"So you don't have anything to do with anything?" Frost asked.
"Um, no, I don't believe I had to do with anything," Alicia Campbell said.
Kent Campbell, Kevin Campbell's father, testified he went with his wife to the hospital in Gary where Thomas was taken after she was shot.
"We loved Tiara as a daughter," he said.
Kent Campbell said he later drove his son to the Portage Police Department for questioning and turned over his son's cell phone — which he had been charging for him — to police.
Kevin Campbell "was a good kid" and "easy to raise," helping his father with different jobs as he grew up, Kent Campbell said.
"He was a great father," Kent Campbell said.
Eric Knowles, who knew Kevin Campbell while the two were in the Porter County Jail, said Kevin Campbell "was very reserved" but said he "worried about his kids."
"The only thing he ever did was maintain his innocence," Knowles said.
Earlier, Nikki Meanovich, who lived next door to Kevin Campbell and Thomas on Wisconsin Street in Hobart, took the stand as the state's final witness. She and Kevin Campbell teared up in the courtroom as she described how their children spent time together.
Meanovich said she was friendly with Kevin Campbell, and he helped her with a pesky possum in the neighborhood. Meanovich had a close bond with Thomas who "was family to me," she said.
"My daughter always used to call her second mom," Meanovich said.
Meanovich told the jury that when Kevin Campbell told Thomas and their children to move out of their Hobart house a few years ago, "He said that she could not come back."
Meanovich said she helped Thomas move her belongings out and remembered Kevin Campbell saying Thomas couldn't take a handgun he had bought Thomas for her birthday.
The trial continues Thursday, and Kevin Campbell is expected to take the stand, his attorney said.
Wife of accused takes witness stand in Portage murder trial, backs up claims about the couple's alarm system
NWI Times
January 24, 2018
VALPARAISO — The wife of accused murderer Kevin Campbell told jurors Wednesday afternoon that the couple was placing dirty diapers outside the door of their Hobart home just hours before the murder of Tiara Thomas.
Alicia Campbell said one of their children was up sick.
Defense attorney Susan Severtson had said during opening arguments of the trial that the action by the couple explains why their home security system registered the doors opening and closing beginning at 3:30 a.m. on the day Thomas was shot and killed.
When Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost asked why she never mentioned the diaper story to an investigator, Alicia Campbell said she did at least once.
"I'm pretty sure he's aware," she said.
The testimony came as the defense kicked off its case in the trial of Kevin Campbell, 33, who is charged with murdering the 30-year-old Thomas on Nov. 18, 2015, at the Portage Park Place apartment she shared with her fiance and the three children she had with Campbell. Prosecutors have said the couple's relationship had deteriorated to the point of a "contentious breakup" and Campbell's child support obligation was increased to $1,400 a month shortly before the killing.
The accused will take the witness stand Thursday, according to his defense team.
Alicia Campbell played down the claims of financial problems.
"They wasn't as bad as everyone is making it seem," she said.
She held her ground after Frost questioned her about the couple being behind in their mortgage payments and having a vehicle repossessed during the period in question.
Alicia Campbell also denied a claim that she went with Kevin Campbell's brother the day after the killing to attempt to retrieve a bag Kevin had left beside or in a garbage can.
She said she turned into a park after getting lost while driving.
Alicia Campbell testified that she and Kevin Campbell were upset that Thomas would not let her three children attend the couple's wedding.
She also confirmed for Frost that she had invoked "marital privilege" when deciding not to talk to prosecutors as part of the investigation and that she learned of the option while doing research on her own.
Prosecutors wrapping up evidence in former cop's murder trial
NWI Times
January 23, 2018
VALPARAISO — When Kevin Campbell heard the news that the mother of three of his children had been fatally shot, he immediately asked about the whereabouts of her current fiance, according to testimony Tuesday morning.
"I could see him and he started asking, 'Where was Marqtell (Robinson),'" said Herbert Smith Jr., uncle to the deceased Tiara Thomas.
When asked by Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost whether Campbell looked distraught, Smith replied, "It didn't look like it to me."
The testimony came as prosecutors prepare to wrap up their case against Campbell, 33, who is charged with murdering 30-year-old Thomas on Nov. 18, 2015, at the Portage Park Place apartment she shared with her fiance and the three children she had with Campbell. Prosecutors have said the couple's relationship had deteriorated to the point of a "contentious breakup" and Campbell's child support obligation was increased to $1,400 a month shortly before the killing.
Smith said he observed Campbell's initial reaction to the news as the family was gathered at Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary where Thomas was taken following the shooting.
Smith also told jurors he overheard Thomas arguing with Campbell on the telephone just days before her death. Thomas worked for Smith at ICU Monitoring in Merrillville.
"When she came out of the room, she was complaining about him," he said.
Smith said he had never seen any violence between Campbell and Thomas, but they had issues involving child support.
"That appeared to be an ongoing issue," he said.
Jurors were dismissed early Tuesday as a result of the prosecutor's final witness being delayed by a personal issue. The trial is expected to resume Wednesday morning with that witness, followed by the defense starting its case.
Police believe Campbell shot Thomas sometime between 4:37 and 5:55 a.m., then took their three children to school. While Campbell told police he took his son straight to school, his son reportedly told investigators his father stopped at Columbus Park in Lake Station and discarded a bag.
Court documents indicate Campbell kept the three children overnight at his home in Hobart the night before Thomas was killed, and that Campbell allegedly requested his oldest child bring him a key to the apartment nearly two weeks before the homicide.
Detective: Accused murderer asked son for key to apartment where killing took place
NWI Times
January 18, 2018
VALPARAISO — Accused murderer Kevin Campbell told police his son did not bring his mother's apartment key over when he came to visit, according to the lead investigator in the case.
"Not that I know of," Portage police Detective Dennis Meyers quoted Campbell as saying. "I've never seen the key before."
But Meyers said police found text messages between Campbell and his son just weeks before the shooting death of the boy's mother that read: "And don't forget your key" and "Make sure you bring your house key."
Campbell, a former Gary and Hammond police officer, is on trial on an accusation of murdering Tiara Thomas Nov. 18, 2015, at the Portage Park Place apartment she shared with her fiance and the three children she had with Campbell. Prosecutors have said the couple's relationship had deteriorated to the point of a "contentious breakup" and Campbell's child support obligation was increased to $1,400 a month shortly before the killing.
Campbell had kept the three children overnight at his home in Hobart the night before Thomas was killed.
Campbell's son testified last week that his father asked him as he picked up the children the day before the killing to bring along a key to Thomas' apartment.
The boy also testified that on the day his mother was killed, his father discarded a grocery bag at a park while taking him from Hobart to school in Portage.
Yet Meyers testified Thursday that Campbell told him during an interview the day of the killing that he made no stops while taking his son to school and then denied it twice when specifically asked about the park.
"It was starting to become a little more argumentative," Meyers said when asked about Campbell's demeanor during that part of the questioning.
Brian Campbell, the younger brother of Kevin Campbell, told jurors Wednesday afternoon that he went with Kevin's wife to a park in Lake Station to see if they could retrieve a gym bag and shoes he reportedly left alongside or in a garbage can.
Neither he nor police ever found the bag in question.
Meyers also backed claims that it was highly unusual that Campbell took his children during a school week for an overnight visit. Meyers testified that Campbell had taken the children just five times during the prior three months and that all but the last visit were on weekends or days off school. He came to the conclusion based on surviving text conversations between Campbell and Thomas.
Meyers also testified that Campbell was unwilling to turn his cellphone over to investigators, who later received it from Campbell's father.
Kevin Campbell's brother, Michael Campbell, told jurors that Kevin was upset because he believed his child support money was benefiting Thomas' fiance.
The trial is underway before Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.
UPDATE: Brother of accused murderer said he was asked to retrieve ditched gym bag
NWI Times
January 17, 2018
VALPARAISO — The younger brother of accused murderer Kevin Campbell told jurors Wednesday afternoon that he went with Kevin's wife to a park in Lake Station to see if they could retrieve a gym bag and shoes he reportedly left alongside or in a garbage can.
The trip, which was made following the Nov. 18, 2015, shooting death of Tiara Thomas at her Portage apartment, was derailed the first time because a police car was at the park, Gary resident Brian Campbell said.
Brian Campbell said he was confused why they did not stop, but later returned on his own.
When Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Cheryl Polarek asked what he found, Campbell responded "nothing."
"Like I said, it was almost empty," he said of the garbage can.
Kevin Campbell's 13-year-old son testified last week that the day his mother was killed, Campbell discarded a grocery bag at a park while taking him to school.
The boy said he did not know what was inside the bag.
Kevin Campbell, a former Gary and Hammond police officer, is accused of murdering Tiara Thomas at the Park Place apartment she shared with her fiance and the three children she had with Kevin Campbell. Prosecutors have said the couple's relationship had deteriorated to the point of a "contentious breakup" and Kevin Campbell's child support obligation was increased to $1,400 a month shortly before the killing.
Also testifying Wednesday afternoon were two former podmates of Kevin Campbell from Porter County Jail, who said he made comments that led them to believe he may be guilty.
James Childress, now of Knox, said Kevin Campbell made a comment about police taking possession of a sweatshirt from his home.
"I wasn't wearing it when I did it," Kevin Campbell is accused of saying.
Chicago resident Aaron Green said the first thing Kevin Campbell said to him at the jail was, "How much time can I get for murder?"
Defense attorney Susan Severtson challenged the credibility of both former inmates based on their criminal records and questioned their intentions for testifying.
Childress said he received a reduced charge after agreeing to cooperate in the case.
Earlier in the day, Portage Detective Scott Harmeling testified that none of the evidence collected from the shooting scene directly links Campbell to the murder he is accused of carrying out there.
No fingerprints, DNA, blood or other bodily fluids were found from Campbell, he said.
Severtson picked at the credibility of the investigation at the crime scene, questioning Harmeling on why he did not fingerprint and photograph various areas of the apartment.
She also attacked the value of a short video Harmeling shot in June that shows where a suspicious vehicle was seen on the morning of the shooting and how a nearby trail leads to Thomas' apartment.
Harmeling said the person who reported seeing the vehicle did not see a driver and there is no evidence Campbell walked the path in question on the morning of the shooting.
He told Polarek it is impossible to fingerprint every surface of a crime scene and that he shot the video in question as a way of giving jurors a perspective of the scene.
The trial is underway before Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.
Evidence, autopsy indicate how Portage woman died, officials say at murder trial
Post-Tribune
January 16, 2018
Evidence and autopsy results pointed investigators to the "most likely" scenario of how a Portage woman died in her apartment two years ago, according to a detective.
"It appeared she had been ambushed in her bedroom while lying in bed," said Detective Scott Harmeling, of Portage police.
Harmeling took the stand Tuesday in the second week of Kevin Campbell's murder trial at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso.
Campbell, 33, of Hobart, is accused of fatally shooting Tiara Thomas, 30, Nov. 18, 2015, in the apartment she shared with her fiance in the Park Place apartment complex.
Harmeling walked jurors through photos he took of the scene that day and how he concluded the shooting probably unfolded.
The detective said Thomas may have used a pillow on her bed to try to protect her from the first gunshot. After the gun misfired and the killer had to clear the chamber, Harmeling said she was shot in her forearms that were probably raised in front of her.
The killer then used another pillow to "suppress the sound of the gunshot" as she was shot in the head, Harmeling concluded.
Jurors viewed photos of the casings and unfired bullets the detective found on the bed and floor at the scene that led him to this scenario.
One bullet went through the mattress and box spring and into the carpet on the floor, he said. The photos also showed "blood smears on the wall" underneath a window in the bedroom, and there were "two large pools of blood" in front of the closet where Thomas was found, he said.
The gunshot to the back right side of her head caused "extensive brain injury," and a copper fragment was recovered from her hair during the autopsy, said Dr. Zhuo Wang, of the Lake County coroner's office, who performed her autopsy.
Campbell wiped away tears as prosecutors went through the autopsy photos like he did during opening arguments.
Last week, Thomas' fiance, Marqtell Robinson, 22, described how he came back after working a midnight shift to find Thomas dead in their apartment.
Thomas' and Campbell's 13-year-old son described how Campbell had stopped at a park to dispose of a plastic bag while taking his son to school the morning Thomas was found dead.
The boy also said Campbell had previously asked him to bring his apartment key with him to Campbell's home and about Robinson's work schedule.
Harmeling said he checked the windows and doors in the apartment and there were no signs of forced entry. Thomas' purse was also still in the apartment with money and credit cards inside, indicating "this wasn't a robbery," he said.
Investigators learned Thomas had a loaded Kel-Tec Luger 9 mm semiautomatic pistol on the top shelf under a pile of clothes in her closet, according to Harmeling.
"It was not consistent with the rounds found at the scene," Harmeling said.
Campbell's trial continues Wednesday.
Victim's 13-year-old son, fiance take stand in ex-cop's trial for murder of Portage woman
Chicago Tribune
Jan 11, 2018
The 13-year-old swiveled in his chair Thursday at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso as jurors and attorneys looked on.
"You know why you're here today, right?" asked prosecuting attorney Cheryl Polarek.
"Yes," the 13-year-old said.
In the second day of testimony, the son of a Portage woman killed in 2015 took the stand in his father's murder trial.
Kevin Campbell, 33, is accused of fatally shooting Tiara Thomas, 30, Nov. 18, 2015, in her Portage apartment she shared with her fiance, Marqtell Robinson, in the Park Place apartment complex.
On Thursday, Campbell wiped tears as the boy testified. Robinson bounced his leg as he had his arm around Thomas's mother, Lisa Mays, sitting prominently where the eighth grader could see the two.
The boy described how Kevin Campbell stopped at a park on the way taking him to school Nov. 18, 2015. Campbell got out and threw away a plastic bag, but the boy said he didn't know what was inside.
"I remember we parked right in front of the three blue slides," he said.
During opening arguments, Susan Marie Severtson, one of Campbell's defense attorneys, claimed Campbell had been sick and stopped to toss "dirty, snotty Kleenexes" from his vehicle.
Later at school, the principal pulled the 13-year-old out of class to talk to a Portage police detective, who drove him around to find the park before going home with his grandparents, the boy said.
"Did you hear some news about your mom?" Polarek asked.
"Yes," the boy said.
Robinson, 22, was visibly distressed watching the boy testify Thursday. The court had to take a break earlier that morning when Robinson sobbed while on the stand himself.
"I was planning on spending the rest of my life with her," Robinson said.
Thomas and Robinson set a wedding date for June 26, 2016, and Robinson said he looked at her three children "as my own."
"They love me. I love them," Robinson said.
Campbell picked up the three children on Nov. 17, 2015, and Robinson said he and Thomas decided to go to Red Lobster for dinner in Merrillville.
"I remember her walking over to me and doing Rock Paper Scissors to see who was going to drive," he laughed.
Robinson left around 10 p.m. for his midnight shift at work in Hammond, and the two texted a bit overnight, he said, including a message from Thomas at 4:56 a.m.
"That was the last text message she sent me," Robinson said.
Robinson said he called his fiance when he got off work at 7 a.m., but she didn't answer. He parked by her car and found the door was unlocked to the apartment, he said. Robinson joked he would fuss to Thomas about that.
"Did you have the opportunity to fuss at her?" Polarek asked.
"Not at all," Robinson said.
Robinson went in the apartment and could see their bedroom at the end of the hallway.
"I saw her feet," he said.
He told her she needed to get up for work, but her hand was cold when he tried to help her up, and a bullet casing fell from her wrist, Robinson said.
It was then he "noticed that actually something was wrong," seeing the blood on the wall and under Thomas.
"I remember my voice being so high pitched that the lady was actually calling me ma'am," he said about calling 911.
Portage police questioned Robinson at the police department, and Robinson said he understood "they were just doing their job."
Ted Uzelac, now the assistant police chief, said he "had bad news for me," Robinson said. Robinson said he grabbed and hugged Uzelac.
"I remember whispering in his ear, 'Did she pass?' And him nodding his head yes," Robinson said.
Robinson told police concerns he had about Campbell. Before Thomas died, Campbell asked his son about Robinson's work schedule, Robinson and the boy testified. Campbell also told his son to bring his apartment key with him Nov. 17, 2015, but the boy said he thought his father was just worried about him being forgetful.
"Did you at any point accuse Kevin Campbell of murdering your fiance?" Polarek asked.
"Not at all," Robinson said.
Campbell's trial resumes Tuesday in Valparaiso.
UPDATE: Son of accused murderer says dad disposed of bag on day of killing
NWI Times
Jan 11, 2018
VALPARAISO — The now-13-year-old son of accused murderer Kevin Campbell told jurors Thursday afternoon that on the day his mother was killed, his father discarded a grocery bag at a park while taking him to school.
The son said he had stayed at his father's home in Hobart the night before.
"We stopped in front of a playground, and he grabbed a bag and threw it away," he testified.
When asked by Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Cheryl Polarek if he knew what was inside the bag, the younger Campbell said he did not.
The elder Campbell is accused of murdering Tiara Thomas — the mother of three of his children — on the morning in question. His son's testimony came on the second day of evidence in his trial.
The boy also testified that his father asked him as he picked up the children the day before the killing to bring along a key to Thomas' Portage apartment where she was found shot early on Nov. 18, 2015.
His father had also questioned him about the work schedule of Marqtell Robinson, the fiance of Thomas, who lived with her and the children.
When questioned further by defense attorney Susan Severtson, the younger Campbell said his father asked about the key because he was concerned the boy would be locked out of the apartment when returning home from school.
"I was already going to bring my key," he said.
But the teen was unable to tell prosecutors if his father had ever before reminded him to bring the key.
Earlier in the day, Robinson testified he never left his overnight work shift in Hammond on the day Thomas was fatally shot at their Park Place apartment in Portage.
Robinson testified Thomas sent him a text message shortly before 5 a.m. that morning, but he was unable to reach her by telephone as he drove home after leaving work at 7 a.m.
He said he was confused when he found the couple's apartment door unlocked when he arrived home and was shocked to find Thomas lying on the floor in a fetal position over the top of a fan. When he grabbed her hand, a bullet shell fell out of her wrist.
"That's when I realized something was wrong," Robinson said following a break in his testimony after he broke down in tears.
Campbell, a former Hammond and Gary police officer, is accused of murdering Thomas following a contentious breakup in their relationship and an order to pay an increased amount of $1,400 a month in child support.
Campbell appeared to tear up during both testimonies.
Severtson questioned Robinson about Thomas' job at a family business that monitors convicts.
Robinson said he was surprised to learn after her death that Thomas had a firearm in the apartment.
While Robinson testified that he thought Thomas may have left the apartment door unlocked while doing laundry, he told Severtson that there was no indication she had done laundry and that the assumption was just his attempt to make sense of the situation.
What did raise his suspicion was Campbell making the unusual move of picking up his three children to stay overnight with him the day before the shooting, he said. He typically only picked up the children on weekends, if at all, he said.
Emotional 1st day as trial begins for ex-Hammond cop charged with killing ex-girlfriend
Chicago Tribune
Jan 10, 2018
A Porter County jury stared at graphic photos Wednesday showing how a Portage woman was found shot dead with blood pooled in the carpet around her in 2015.
"So, how do we get to this place where she dies so violently?" asked prosecuting attorney Matthew Frost.
Frost turned and pointed to Kevin Campbell, 33, sitting in a suit with his defense attorneys at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso.
"We get to this place because the man sitting at the end of this table, Kevin A. Campbell, murdered her," Frost said.
Attorneys presented opening arguments Wednesday after seating a jury Tuesday in Campbell's murder trial stemming from the death Tiara Thomas, Campbell's ex-girlfriend and his children's mother.
Thomas, 30, was found shot Nov. 18, 2015, in the bedroom of her Portage apartment she shared with her fiance in the Park Place apartment complex.
Although he couldn't see the screen, Campbell, a former Hammond police officer, wiped his eyes with a tissue as Frost showed Thomas' autopsy photos during opening statements. When the courtroom cleared during a morning break, he cried as he sat alone at the defense table.
Susan Marie Severtson, one of Campbell's attorneys, argued that there was a lack of eyewitness and scientific evidence in the case. No DNA evidence or fingerprints matching Campbell were found at Thomas' apartment, she said.
At the end of the trial, Svertson argued, "You will not know who in fact killed Tiara Thomas."
Thomas and Campbell had three children together, but the "relationship fell apart," Frost said. It was a "contentious breakup," and before Thomas died, Campbell's child support "expanded exponentially," he said.
When Campbell was arrested, Portage police said there may have been a financial motive involved, as Campbell's vehicle had been repossessed, he had voice mails from creditors and his bank account balance was $7.58, according to court records.
"It was ruining his life," Frost said.
Svertson countered that didn't amount to motive. Thomas was Campbell's "first love" and the two had known each other since elementary school, she said.
"He was happy to emotionally and financially support his children," Svertson said.
Police questioned Marqtell Robinson, Thomas' fiance who she lived with, but Robinson's alibi that he had worked a midnight shift before he found her dead at 7 a.m. on Nov. 18, 2015, checked out, according to testimony from Ted Uzelac, Portage police assistant chief.
"He did not murder Tiara Thomas," Frost said.
David Duttlinger, a Portage Fire Department paramedic, said he couldn't say exactly when Thomas had been shot, but she wasn't bleeding much when he arrived at the apartment, he said. The responding officers and paramedic said none of them smelled gunpowder in the apartment.
After questioning neighbors at the apartment complex, no one said they heard or saw anything, the officers testified.
Campbell's trial continues Thursday and is expected to run three days a week for the next few weeks, attorneys said
Campbell is being held at Porter County Jail without bond.
Former Region cop's murder trial gets underway with dispute over quality of evidence
NWI Times
January 10, 2018
VALPARAISO — An attorney for former Hammond and Gary police officer Kevin Campbell told jurors Wednesday morning they will not hear from any eyewitnesses or be presented with any physical evidence linking her client to the murder of the mother of three of his children.
The case against Campbell is the product of a "rush to judgment" linking him to the Nov. 18, 2015, shooting death of 30-year-old Tiara Thomas at her Portage apartment, defense attorney Susan Severtson argued.
But Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost said there is plenty of evidence, beginning with the fact that the couple's relationship had deteriorated to the point of a "contentious breakup" and Campbell's child support obligation was increased to $1,400 a month shortly before the killing.
"It was ruining his life," Frost said of the 33-year-old Campbell, who has remarried and had another child.
Prosecutors began rolling out their evidence against Campbell during the first day of his murder trial before Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.
Campbell had picked up his three children from Thomas the day before her death and had them stay overnight with him in Hobart, which was unusual, Frost said during opening arguments. He had also asked his son days earlier for a key to the Park Place Apartment where the children lived with Thomas and was asking about the work schedule of a man living with Thomas.
Police also discovered that at 5:34 a.m. on the day of the killing, Campbell's cellphone had registered at a cell tower not far from where Thomas lived, Frost said.
"That's the connection," he said. "But he told police he never left (home)."
Campbell's home security system also registered his doors opening a couple times beginning at 3:30 a.m. on the day of the shooting, Frost said.
While Campbell told police he took his son straight to school on the day in question, his son later told investigators his father stopped at Columbus Park in Lake Station and discarded a bag containing shoes.
"So we have lie, lie, lie, lie," Frost said.
Defense counters evidence
Severtson said there was a reason Campbell did not get all the facts correct.
"He was distraught," she said. "He was crying. He was in a state of disbelief."
Campbell, however, did cooperate with police by agreeing to be interviewed, allowing a search of his home, offering his clothes and agreeing to a gunshot residue test of his body that was never done.
"Because he, ladies and gentlemen, had absolutely nothing to hide," Severtson told jurors.
She dismissed the claims about tracking Campbell's cellphone by saying there are 39 cell towers within a radius of just under 10 miles of where Thomas was shot, and none picked up on him coming or going.
The doors of his home were opened overnight because one of his children was sick and he was placing dirty diapers outside, Severtson said, and it was just trash dropped off at the park.
"There were no shoes," she said.
Severtson said Campbell and Thomas had known each other since elementary school and had been in a relationship for 14 years.
"He loved her deeply," she said.
Former Gary/Hammond cop's murder trial to get underway Tuesday
NWI Times
January 08, 2018
VALPARAISO — Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday for a former Hammond and Gary police officer accused of murdering his children's mother Nov. 18, 2015, at her Portage apartment.
Kevin Campbell, 33, faces a single count of murder in the shooting death of Tiara Thomas, 30.
Campbell is charged with killing Thomas, who was found covered in blood about 7:30 a.m. in her home at Park Place Apartments, 5970 Old Porter Road in Portage. She died later at the hospital.
Police believe Campbell shot Thomas sometime between 4:37 and 5:55 a.m. that same morning, then took their three children to school.
Court documents indicate Campbell kept the three children overnight at his home in Hobart the night before Thomas was killed. It also alleges Campbell requested his oldest child bring him a key to the apartment nearly two weeks before the homicide.
There was no forced entry into Thomas' apartment the morning she was killed, according to court documents.
Campbell paid Thomas nearly $1,500 per month in child support, and the two often argued about the money and how it was spent, according to charging information. The charges indicate Campbell was in debt and his vehicle had been repossessed.
A plea of not guilty was entered during Campbell's initial court appearance.
Four weeks of court time have been set aside for the trial, in part to allow Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford to stay on top of his weekly court calls on Monday and Friday, according to the court. The trial will take place Tuesday through Thursday each of those weeks.
Campbell is represented by defense attorneys Roy Dominguez and Susan Severtson.
Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost and Deputy Prosecutor Cheryl Polarek will argue the case against Campbell.
Campbell, who remains behind bars without bail, as is standard with a murder charge, has been ordered by the court to avoid contact with his children.
Campbell, a Hammond probationary officer, was fired from the job in the wake of the killing after being identified as a person of interest in the case.
He was also a police officer on the Gary Police Department from Aug. 3, 2011, to Jan. 11, 2015, when he left to join the Hammond department.
Campbell, a probationary officer at the time with Hammond, was fired after he had been identified by authorities as a person of interest.
Former Hammond and Gary police officer accused of murdering the mother of his children will face a jury
NWI Times
December 11, 2017
VALPARAISO — A former Hammond and Gary police officer accused of murdering the mother of his children will face a jury beginning Jan. 9.
Kevin Campbell, 33, was brought over from jail to the courthouse Monday morning for a short hearing, during which time his trial date was confirmed by Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.
Bradford said he is setting aside four weeks for the murder trial, which is a lengthy period for that type of case.
Campbell is charged with killing Tiara Thomas, 30, who was found covered in blood about 7:30 a.m. Nov. 18, 2015, in her unit at Park Place Apartments, 5970 Old Porter Road in Portage. She died later at the hospital.
Police believe Campbell shot Thomas sometime between 4:37 and 5:55 a.m., then took their three children to school.
Court documents indicate Campbell kept the three children overnight at his home in Hobart the night before Thomas was killed. It also alleges Campbell requested his oldest child bring him a key to the apartment nearly two weeks before the homicide.
The documents point to arguments over child support and other money-related matters as a motive.
Trial to start for ex-officer in death of children's mother
NWI Times
Dec 11, 2017
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A jury trial for a former Hammond and Gary police officer charged in the death of the mother of three of his children is scheduled to start next month.
The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports that the Jan. 9 trial date was confirmed at a hearing Monday for 33-year-old Kevin Campbell.
Tiara Thomas was found bleeding in November 2015 inside her Portage apartment and later died at a hospital.
Authorities have said phone records indicated Campbell and the 30-year-old Thomas argued over nearly $1,500 in child support he paid and that creditors were calling him.
No comments:
Post a Comment