The first-degree murder trial for a man accused of killing a Burlington High School student in 2016 was moved Thursday from Des Moines County to Washington County because of extensive pretrial publicity.
Jaron Purham, 25, of St. Louis, will stand trial in the killing of Kedarie Johnson, 16, beginning Sept. 25 in Washington. The trial is expected to last two weeks.
District Judge Mary Ann Brown granted the change of venue following a request from Allen Cook III, an Ottumwa public defender who was appointed to represent Purham after several area public defenders and private attorneys said they couldn't represent him because of conflicts of interest.
"Judge, one thing I do know is the trial has to be moved from Des Moines County," Cook told Brown during Thursday's 15-minute hearing. He said Des Moines County Attorney Amy Beavers has agreed the trial should be moved from Burlington to another jurisdiction.
Beavers, who was in the courtroom along with Det. Eric Short, the lead detective in the murder investigation, told Brown she did not oppose Cook's request.
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Purham is one of two men charged with killing Johnson, a gender-fluid youth who was tortured and executed in the late evening hours of March 2, 2016. His body was found dumped in some bushes behind a residence on South Hill. He had been shot twice and plastic trash bags wrapped around his head.
His co-defendant, Jorge Sanders-Galvez, 23, also of St. Louis, who also received a change of venue, was convicted last fall by a South Lee County District Court jury of first-degree murder sentenced to life in prison without parole last December by Brown.
Cook said the extensive publicity about the killing, along with evidence and testimony presented at Sanders-Galvez's trial, makes it impossible for his client to receive a fair trial if it isn't moved from the immediate area.
“To require the defendant to try this matter in Des Moines County, in light of all the publicity, would constitute a deprivation of the defendant’s (constitutional) right to a fair and impartial jury,” Cook wrote in his motion.
“Throughout that trial, many (newspaper) articles relayed information regarding evidence that was presented in that case — particularly, evidence which intended to show that (Purham) may have been responsible for this offense,” he wrote. “Due to the extensive media coverage ... there is a substantial likelihood that a fair and impartial jury (cannot be impaneled in Des Moines County).”
Purham’s trial was originally scheduled to begin Feb. 20 in Des Moines County District Court.
Brown told the attorneys she had talked with state court administrators and the best alternative was Washington County because of its close proximity to Burlington. She also said she didn't believe potential jurors in Washington County have been exposed to extensive pretrial publicity.
Although Cook cited pre-trial publicity as his main reason for wanting the trial moved from Des Moines County, he also told Brown he wanted to preserve the right to raise the issue of a lack of racial diversity once the panel is convened in Washington County.
Cook, along with Nicole Jensen, another public defender from Ottumwa, will represent Purham throughout the case. Beavers is being assisted by Laura Roan, an assistant Iowa attorney general, and Christopher Perras, a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights attorney based in Washington.
Perras, Roan and Beavers prosecuted Sanders-Galvez.
Sanders-Galvez and Purham also are facing possible capital murder charges if they are tried in U.S. District Court in Davenport on hate crime charges related to the murder of Johnson. A grand jury was convened last August in Davenport to determine if federal charges should be filed against the two men. A decision has not been announced on whether the grand jury is continuing to investigate Johnson's death.
If they are convicted of Johnson’s death being a hate crime under federal law, they could face the death penalty because a firearm was used to kill Johnson during the commission of a hate crime.
Purham remains in custody in the Lee County jail in lieu of a $2 million cash bond. He faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder.