Jury selection is scheduled to begin Wednesday morning in the trial of Christian “Kit” Martin, the former Army major and commercial airline pilot charged with the November, 2015 murders of three neighbors in Pembroke.
Much of the discussion during a hearing Tuesday was focused on a shell casing that matched a gun belonging to Martin which was found on the back porch of the home of Calvin Phillips on South Main Street in Pembroke. Family members were cleaning the home weeks after the scene had been processed when the casing was discovered and defense attorney Tom Griffiths has argued the circumstances of the discovery should negate it as evidence.
After hearing both sides, Judge John Atkins allowed it to be presented during trial, but says the defense will obviously get to question those who found it.
One of the family members present for the discovery of the shell casing later failed a polygraph, but Judge Atkins said that, like almost any other lie detector results, is not admissible at trial.
Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley is seeking to have some hearsay testimony allowed in court, specifically statements reportedly made by Calvin and Pam Phillips to friends and co-workers that they should direct the police to Martin, should something happen to them, as Calvin was set to testify against Martin in a federal court martial on Fort Campbell.
Judge Atkins said he would have to review case law before making a ruling on whether that testimony will be allowed. Whaley requested another hearing to argue there’s a preponderance of the evidence to show Martin is the reason the Phillips are dead and therefore unable to testify to their statements.
Martin is charged with three counts of murder, arson, attempted arson, first-degree burglary and three counts of tampering with physical evidence.
The bodies of Pamela Phillips and Ed Dansereau were found in a burned up car in a field off Rosetown Road on the morning of November 18, 2015. Several hours later, the Christian County Sheriff’s Office found Calvin Phillips shot to death in his home.
Each count of the indictment alleges Martin acted “alone or in complicity with others or another.”
The case was investigated by Kentucky State Police and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office and is prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. The trial could last most of the month and at least some of it will be televised and streamed by Court TV.
South Main Street scene in Pembroke
Rosetown Road scene