New trial date set in attempted murder, arson case

A new trial date has been set for Karen Brafman, the woman charged with attempted murder and arson for allegedly setting a mobile home on fire with six people inside on Princeton Road in May of 2018.

Special prosecutor Jim Sesousky and defense counsel agreed to a March 3 trial date and Judge John Atkins set another pre-trial conference for January 14, when Lesousky will argue for Brafman’s original trial testimony to be used as evidence.

That trial ended with a guilty verdict that was overturned by the Kentucky Supreme Court in late 2019 based on prosecutorial misconduct.

Lesousky says he also has a motion to admit evidence that would address concerns of the Supreme Court over text messages that were not authenticated as having come from Brafman during the first trial.

The 2019 jury found Brafman guilty of first-degree arson, second-degree arson and six counts of attempted murder and gave her a life sentence.

The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the decision, saying she was denied a fair trial when Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling opposed her using a defense that she was intoxicated—even though he knew she had been at the time of the crime.