Attorneys painted very different pictures of Jessica Kennedy during opening statements at her trial today in Monroe County Criminal Court.
Kennedy is charged with felony murder, aggravated robbery, abuse of a corpse and arson.
She is accused in the death of Jim Miller, who was shot three in the head on July 17, 2010.
While the prosecution acknowledges Kennedy didn’t act alone, assistant district attorney Jim Stutts described her as the key participant.
“She had intimate knowledge of what happened, and she had to be there to know those details,” he said.
John Eldridge, defense attorney, said the case is about power, and he suggested Kennedy was manipulated into a confession.
“Powerlessness is the name of this case,” he said. “Powerlessness was Jessica Kennedy.”
Shelly Bradbury joined the Times Free Press as a business reporter in January 2013, after starting with the paper as a general assignment intern in July 2012. She is from Houghton, New York, and graduated from Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in management. Before moving to Tennessee, Shelly previously interned with The Goshen News, The Sandusky Register and The Mint Hill Times. Outside the newsroom, Shelly enjoys ...
