Lawyers rest cases in Kirby murder trial

MARTINSVILLE -- Two weeks of arguments in the multiple murder trial of Indianapolis resident Judy Kirby concluded Wednesday in Morgan County Superior Court.\nKirby was on trial for an incident occurring March 25 last year when she drove her white Firebird north on the southbound lane of Ind. 67 in Morgan County. She ran head-on into a van driven by Martinsville resident Tom Reel, who was travelling with two of his children and family friend Richard Miller.\nKirby had four of her children in the car. All but Kirby and Miller were killed in the collision, which completely shattered both vehicles. The State of Indiana charged Kirby with 7 counts of murder, 4 counts of neglect and 1 count of aggravated battery.\nKirby's defense has not denied that she drove the wrong way on the highway, but her motivations for the fatal 1.7 mile journey were hotly contested. The defense, consisting of Johnson county attorney Tom Jones and his daughter Jennifer Auger, built their case around the contention that Kirby was psychotic and had no control over her own actions.\nWednesday's final arguments began at 9:15 a.m., with Deputy Prosecutor Terry Iacoli making a presentation to the jury. Iacoli used an overhead projector and slide show to summarize his case as he reiterated the significance of hundreds of pieces of evidence and witness testimonies.\n"Back on March 25," Iacoli said, "Judy Kirby was in control and held nine lives in her hands."\nIacoli then restated his case, using testimonies from Kirby's friends and family to portray her as being suicidal after catching her husband Tinnie Kirby cheating on her. Iacoli then painted her as a woman at the end of her rope making a conscious decision to drive her car into oncoming traffic with both hands on the wheel and screaming children all around her. \n"She had nerves of steel," Iacoli said. "Imagine that for 87 seconds... cars coming at you, swerving, trying to get you to stop. Nine vehicles. (Kirby) knows they can't all avoid her, so she goes faster and faster. She nails it."\nIacoli pointed to expert testimony which said Kirby continually accelerated to a speed of over 99 miles per hour on her way to hitting Reel's van. Iacoli repeatedly called Kirby's drive a suicide mission and disputed the defense's claims that Kirby was psychotically imbalanced from a thyroid disorder.\n"We are confident that when you look at the evidence... you will find that on March 25, 2000 Judy Kirby did exactly what all her friends and family were afraid she would set out to do: commit suicide," Iacoli said.\nThe defense then recapped its case, describing Kirby as a loving mother who lost control in the throws of psychosis. Jones described Kirby as being paranoid to the point that she was convinced the Secret Service was tunneling under her house to spy on her and presented photos of holes she'd ripped into the walls of her house searching for surveillance devices. He said the matter was a traffic accident, but not murder, because Kirby wasn't in control of her faculties.\nJones also presented part of Kirby's emotional, tape-recorded police statement, given to State Trooper Rick Lane while she was hospitalized at Methodist Hospital after the crash.\n"I want to know why," Kirby told police. "I want to know why. I love my babies. I wouldn't do nothing to hurt my babies. I swear to God in Heaven I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I swear to God that is all I love. I wouldn't do nothing to hurt my babies. None of my babies."\nAfter a short recess, Auger completed the defense's final argument by presenting the jury with charts describing Kirby's behavior as being typical of someone with Hyperthyroid disorder and asked the jury if there was any doubt Kirby was psychotic. Throughout its case, the defense stressed the prosecution's burden of proof and asked the jurors to keep an open mind about Kirby's condition.\n"If you think at the end of the day (Kirby) was unable to process information," Auger told the jury. "Justice demands that she is not guilty of murder, neglect and battery."\nThe defense ultimately asked the jury to acquit Kirby on all charges.\nAfter both sides finished their arguments, Morgan County Superior Court Judge Jane Spencer Craney instructed the jury on how it should deliberate the case. \nCraney reiterated Indiana laws which say Kirby must have voluntarily killed to be guilty of murder and described voluntarily as "behavior that is an act of choice." She also ordered the jury not to be swayed by the graphic nature of photos of the young victims taken after the crash or the fact that Kirby did not testify in her own defense. Craney also emphasized the defense must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to convict Kirby on any of the charges.\n"Prepare yourself for a long, serious deliberation," Craney told the throng of family members, police and media in the courtroom pews. "I am prepared to allow several days for deliberation before I take steps to declare a mistrial."\nBefore the jury entered deliberations, Tom Reel's widow Louise told a small pack of reporters outside the courthouse that she and her remaining daughter share the same sentiments.\n"She took my family from me," Reel said. "I hope they're not going to let her go because she did something horrible"