GUILTY CA - Faith Tsarnas & Kiya Kitchen, Both 14, Die In Hit & Run, Fortuna, 12 July 2016

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MsMarple said:
For the sake of my sanity I try and remain stoic when following cases but this from Marci's son... it broke my heart.

I can't imagine the heartache he's going through from the realization that his mom is not what he had always believed plus knowing she used him in an attempt to get herself off of charges. That poor child!

Good on him though for having the insight to see through his mother's agenda - it's not easy to let go of long held beliefs, especially about a relative - we see that here on a daily basis. I'd say he has a good head on his shoulders and his moral compass is working fine.
Thanks Lilibet for keeping this case current!!
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BBM

From what I've read, Mom is an addict. She's addicted to alcohol. Addicts, on their substance, are in many ways not the same person clean & sober. I hope that a counselor can help Jevin understand that the loving mother he remembers is in important ways oddly separate from the addict who killed his sister & asked him to lie.

Jevin does seem to have that good head & will continue to move forward -- scarred but capable.
 
Laughing said:
BBM

From what I've read, Mom is an addict. She's addicted to alcohol. Addicts, on their substance, are in many ways not the same person clean & sober. I hope that a counselor can help Jevin understand that the loving mother he remembers is in important ways oddly separate from the addict who killed his sister & asked him to lie.

Jevin does seem to have that good head & will continue to move forward -- scarred but capable.
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BBM

I agree with your hope that he can get counseling and understand that addiction changes people. Speaking from experience as an adult child of an alcoholic father, it’s one thing to understand the difference intellectually, but very difficult to understand at a deep emotional level. And my father never did what Marci has done. It will be a long road and my heart goes out to him.

But as you said, he will go on to have a good life in spite of Marci.
 
Lilibet said:
Just some praise for John Chiv. Humboldt County residents are very fortunate to have John diligently attending and reporting on court cases in detail before a trial starts. Personally, I find all the “nuts and bolts” stuff John reports to be fascinating.

I have never seen this kind of reporting anywhere else, certainly not from MSM. John started going to court when Gary Lee Bullock was arraigned for the murder of John’s beloved pastor at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Eureka. He branched out into other cases during the two years it took for Bullock’s trial to start and since. John’s loss of his dear friend has certainly been our gain in both the Bullock and Kitchen cases.
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BBM Amen!

I didn't know about the murder of Chiv's pastor. I suppose it's true... good things (triumph) can come from tragedy (adversity). With continued support from a loving dad it's entirely possible Jevin's future could unfold in "Chiv-style"... giving help to others in need of justice.
 
burblestein said:
I strongly suspect this honorable young man's moral compass was not set by his mother....
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I agree. In addition to his Dad, I would imagine that he’s had some good influence from coaches in high school. He was very active in track and field.

fred&edna said:
BBM Amen!

I didn't know about the murder of Chiv's pastor. I suppose it's true... good things (triumph) can come from tragedy (adversity). With continued support from a loving dad it's entirely possible Jevin's future could unfold in "Chiv-style"... giving help to others in need of justice.
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Yes, I expect good things from Jevin. He seems like a really neat kid.
 
John Chiv has asked an attorney to comment on Marci’s plea to all charges. It’s very interesting. Essentially, there is no advantage to her unless the judge has somehow indicated what the sentence would be, and it’s fairly light. The DA has made it clear that the plea was initiated by the defense, not the people. The judge could be on shaky ground regarding future cases if he overrides the DA’s wishes. This is Cockrum’s first big case as a new judge, so that scenario is unlikely. But...

It’s fairly complex and there is lots more at the link about referring to probation, etc. The attorney’s final comment is this:

"If the Court is going out of its way to designate seats for both sides then it is possible it is still a prison term and there will be no referral to probation. Therefore the sentencing could happen immediately at the plea. The Kitchen and Tsarnas families have been through so much. As it appears how this case is finally ending up, this will hardly be a cathartic process for them.”
:(

Words Worth: Is Marci Kitchen pleading as charged because of a sentence recommendation?
 
Chiv is not happy with the seating arrangements for the plea hearing tomorrow. There is limited seating and no standing will be allowed for security reasons. However, standing was allowed for cases such as Gary Bullock’s and Jon Goldberg’s. Chiv feels Marci is still getting “kid glove” treatment by the Superior Court.

Much more at the link.

Words Worth: Seating arrangements for victims, families and law abiding citizens while Marci continues to get the Humboldt Superior Court kid glove treatment
 
Lilibet said:
Chiv is not happy with the seating arrangements for the plea hearing tomorrow. There is limited seating and no standing will be allowed for security reasons. However, standing was allowed for cases such as Gary Bullock’s and Jon Goldberg’s. Chiv feels Marci is still getting “kid glove” treatment by the Superior Court.

Much more at the link.

Words Worth: Seating arrangements for victims, families and law abiding citizens while Marci continues to get the Humboldt Superior Court kid glove treatment
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2 yrs of injustice, and... it culminates to a finale such as this. Sickening.
 
REMINDER: Change of plea (to guilty as charged) hearing today (Monday, August 20) at 3:30.

Sentencing will be Sept 18, but as the attorney in Chiv’s article pointed out, it could happen today (not likely IMO).

Here are links to local news sources in possible order of reporting speed (Facebook may beat John Chiv):

Words Worth (John Chiv)

Times-Standard (Facebook)
Local news, Breaking Local news and More: Eureka Times-Standard

Redwood News (Facebook Channel 3)
http://kiem-tv.com/news/

Lost Coast Outpost (Facebook)
Lost Coast Outpost

Redheaded Blackbelt – kymkemp.com

Redwood Times: Breaking News, Sports, Business, Entertainment & LA News

North Coast Journal | Humboldt County

Mad River Union
 
I suppose all of the charges are misdemeanors?

** Sorry, I'm now reading Chiv's previous info about this
 
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Despite two passionate statements from Deputy District Attorney Stacey Eads about Marci Kitchen being a flight risk, covering and concealing her crime and traveling and Ms. Heidi Holmquist Wells stating that it was 770 days after Kiya Kitchen and Faith Tsarnas' deaths that Marci Kitchen finally took responsibility and that she could flee, Judge Kaleb Cockrum denied the People's request to remand Marci Kitchen today. He set a custody hearing for September 4 at 8:30 a.m.

Words Worth: Judge denies People's request to remand Marci Kitchen today, custody hearing set for September 4
 
burblestein said:
Boy, I am torn about this. I find myself both wishing she could just be locked up and done with, and hoping she will go to trial and catch the heavier sentence she so richly deserves.
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I know what you mean, but a jury trial will be delayed and delayed, so I’m inclined to get this over with. But I hope the judge doesn’t give her a light sentence so she won’t refuse.

More from Chiv’s link above:
The mid term cap of two years of agreed as part of the conditional plea does not apply to all counts and special allegations. If the Judge decides to sentence her to the maximum, Marci Kitchen can refuse the plea deal and the case can proceed to a jury trial.

Custody hearing on September 4. Sentencing September 18.
 
“An emotional crowd gathered outside Humboldt County Courtroom before the 3:30PM hearing. Upon the initiation of the plea change, Kitchen was seen crying while signing paperwork.”
Marci Kitchen changes her plea to guilty in the hit-and-running killing of two girls in Fortuna - KIEM-TV | Redwood News

Nothing in this article we don’t already know.
Marcia Kitchen pleads guilty to vehicular manslaughter charges, faces up to 11 years in prison

“The original version of this story, by Outpost reporter Rhonda Parker, reported that the judge indicated in court today that he was inclined to sentence Kitchen to only two years in prison. This, according to Kitchen defense attorney Meagan O’Connell, who contacted the Outpost, is incorrect, and that the final sentence will almost certainly be between 10 and 11 years.”

LoCO will sort this out and provide a full report later. Good photos at the link.
(UPDATE/CORRECTION) Marci Kitchen Pleads Guilty
 
Here is LoCO’s Updated correction:

Contrary to what this reporter mistakenly understood, Cockrum was referring to only the vehicular manslaughter charges in Kitchen’s case when he said he planned to sentence her to two years. She still could be sentenced to the maximum of 11 years for all charges.

After taking Kitchen’s guilty plea to the deaths of her daughter and another 14-year-old girl, Cockrum told Kitchen he plans at this time to cap her vehicular manslaughter sentence at two years. If he decides to sentence her to more, he said, she will be allowed to take back her plea of guilty.
————-
Cockrum said that in making his decision about sentencing, he will consider the probation report, attorneys’ statements and statements from the victims’ and Kitchen’s supporters. He noted that while she has admitted serious crimes, she has no prior criminal record and has committed no offenses since this crime.
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Eureka attorney Patrik Griego, one of two private attorneys who represented Kitchen for 18 months, said many factors, including community pressure and family pressure, could have played into her decision to plead guilty as charged.

“I certainly think the case is very defensible, both factually and legally,” Griego said this morning. “I felt comfortable taking it to trial.”
——————

More at the link. Griego says the accident was unavoidable (essentially blaming the victims) and basically accusing Jevin of perjury at the preliminary hearing. He said Marci is a very nice person and is grieving. This is what the trial would have been like with the new attorney too IMO. :mad:
(UPDATE/CORRECTION) Marci Kitchen Pleads Guilty
 
burblestein said:
So. Marci has turned on her son and accused him of lying? He was hanging around the house when his mother ran over his sister, somewhere down the road. So why would he lie?
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Exactly. Why would he lie? I don’t believe Jevin is lying. I’m not sure if it’s Marci or the attorney accusing him of lying, or both. The attorney didn’t say that Marci denied what Jevin said. It almost sounds as if the attorney’s comment is based on what Jevin didn’t say at first to the investigators, but said later. Jevin may still have been coming to grips with the enormity of what his mother did and may not have revealed everything all at once. He’s a kid whose mother just ran over and killed his sister, and probably in shock.

Here’s what the attorney said...very cleverly worded:

“We had investigators talk to the son right after the accident,” he said, “and he didn’t say that happened at all. Every time the son was interviewed his story got worse and worse and worse.”

Griego said Kitchen and her son have a “contentious relationship,” and he believes the son also is under heavy pressure.
(UPDATE/CORRECTION) Marci Kitchen Pleads Guilty

So, according to these slippery-slimey words, what Jevin said is because he has a contentious relationship with his mother and is under pressure, presumably from his Dad. Marci is a “nice”person and mourning.

BUT SHE LEFT THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT!!!!
 
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