Jury acquits teen on deliberate homicide charge

Stephen Thomas was justified for shooting Larry Kingsley to death last July, a jury concluded Wednesday after less than two hours of deliberation.

Thomas, 18, was acquitted of deliberate homicide and felony theft, but convicted of tampering with evidence, a felony.

Defense attorney Ann German clutched Thomas as the clerk of court read the verdict. His expression revealed a hint of relief, but he remained solemn throughout the entire court proceeding.

Jurors dabbed their eyes as District Court Judge Michael Prezeau spoke to them after the verdict.

“This was a tough case,” he said.

Prezeau characterized the defendant and his girlfriend, Heather Henson, as “a bunch of dumb kids who did some dumb things and got themselves in a bad situation.”

“It’s difficult for a jury to find somebody not guilty under those circumstances,” he continued. “I’m very proud of you. If I had been on the jury, that’s how I would have (decided).”

Thomas and Henson were arrested July 13 for killing 67-year-old Kingsley at a Sylvan Lake campground. The two claimed that they shot Kingsley multiple times in the head because they had feared for their lives in the remote area with a mentally unstable Kingsley.

Witnesses confirmed Kingsley’s threatening behavior in the days leading to the murder, but in question was the immediacy of the threat to Henson and Thomas, and why the two chose to go back to the camp that night if they were afraid of him.

Thomas and Henson testified that Thomas did not want to go back to Kingsley’s campsite, but that Henson, who moved all of her belongings there, insisted they get her things back.

Henson admitted to police and testified in both trials that she waited to shoot Kingsley until his eyes were closed as he was sitting in a camp chair drunk. When Thomas realized what was happening, he began to shoot as well, according to their testimony.

Thomas placed a pistol in Kingsley’s hand and covered up the body with a tarp and sleeping bag, accounting for the tampering charge. The theft charge stemmed from Henson and Thomas then taking Kingsley’s pickup to Kalispell.

Thomas’s seven-day trial mirrored Henson’s December trial in length and testimony, but Henson was found guilty of attempted mitigated deliberate homicide. She was later sentenced to five years in prison.

Prosecutor Bernard Cassidy argued Wednesday during closing statements that Kingsley did not pose an imminent threat.

“They didn’t try to walk away,” Cassidy said, “and they weren’t patient enough to see if he would pass out.”

Cassidy described how Henson had showed Thomas a text on her phone that read she thought she was going to have to kill Kingsley. Thomas replied, “stay at least six feet away,” so that Kingsley would not be able to take the gun from her.

“The defendant knew Henson was going to shoot,” Cassidy said. “He turned and deliberately shot him at least five times in the side of the head. Then he put a gun against or nearly against his head and shot.”

Defense attorney John Putikka said that though Kingsley did not have a knife to Thomas’s throat at the time of the shooting – as he did earlier in the night – the threat was immediate according to Thomas’s perception.

“He stopped what he perceived to be a threat to Heather,” Putikka said, describing how Thomas turned to see what he thought was Kingsley lunging at Henson with a knife, but what may have been Kingsley falling out of a chair after being shot.

Putikka said that because Kingsley threatened the man who had taken them up to the campsite and scared him into leaving without them, Kingsley was committing a forcible felony – a justifiable reason for them to defend themselves.

“Stephen is a follower,” Putikka said. “He’s guilty of being naïve. He’s guilty of being young. Stephen had nothing to gain from this relationship or encounter with Kingsley. He only went because of his loyalty to Heather.”

Prezeau denied the defense’s informal request to release Thomas on his on recognizance, but reduced his bail from $200,000 to $20,000. The defense said it would make a formal motion for Thomas’s release, and Prezeau agreed to re-visit the idea then. Thomas is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 3 after a pre-sentence investigation report is prepared. He has been incarcerated for two weeks shy of one year.