Charges have been dismissed against Norman Graham, the man who had been granted a new trial for the 1980 rape and murder of Janice “Kay” Williams at a trailer park in Guthrie.
Attorney Melanie Foote Hollingsworth of the Kentucky Innocence Project represented Graham and noted it took 10 years of work by the agency for the day to come. She thanked everyone who made it possible in a Facebook post.
Graham’s first trial in 1981 ended with a hung jury and a second trial resulted in a conviction in 2008. The Commonwealth presented DNA evidence at trial showing Graham had engaged in sexual relations with WiIliams before her death, but it was well known the two had been in a relationship.
Special Judge Kelly Mark Eaton granted a new trial in 2017 after hearing hours of testimony in Todd Circuit Court, and relied heavily upon testimony from Renee Dean—the sister of twice-convicted murderer and suspected serial killer Roy Wayne Dean, who was living in a trailer near Williams on the night of the killing.
Renee told of playing hide-and-seek as a 13-year old with her cousin on the night of the crime in the trailer park. She heard a scream and a few minutes later saw Roy Wayne Dean coming from the direction of Williams’ trailer wearing a white t-shirt covered in blood and holding a duffle bag. He wouldn’t say what he was doing and she recalled him coming home with a cut he claimed came from a dog bite.
Dean gave testimony in prison and denied being involved.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Neil Kerr told the Courier Journal he decided not to retry Graham in part based on affidavits from the victim’s family, who said they did not want to “relive these horrible events again by virtue of another trial.”
Kerr also reportedly said a third trial “would be highly unlikely to result in a conviction” and added “it would not serve the public interest or the family of Kay Williams.”
Graham has been out on bond since October of 2017 and is reportedly living in the Clarksville area.
https://www.facebook.com/melanie.foote/posts/10158626437263265