Killer Emotionless As Convicted Of Murder, Robbery

Charles Robert Stephenson leaves the courtroom a convicted killer after the verdict was read Monday night.

Mike Perleberg-Eagle 99.3

Ryan Siebe (left), the son of Leigh Jennings, speaks with reporters following the conviction of his mother's killer.

Mike Perleberg-Eagle 99.3

Jennings' friends and family meet with prosecutors and detectives following the announcement of the verdict they were seeking against Charles Stephenson.

Mike Perleberg-Eagle 99.3

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – Dearborn County jurors convicted Charles Robert Stephenson on charges of Murder and Robbery Monday night.

After about seven hours of deliberation, the 12 jurors came to a conclusion around 9:00 p.m. Dearborn Circuit Court Judge James D. Humphrey revealed the jurors’ decision, which agreed with prosecutors’ argument that the 59-year-old from Walton, Kentucky had murdered Leigh Jennings in her Aurora in March 2012.

“The truth has come out. They jury felt that they saw the truth. That’s what’s important,” said Jennings’ son, Ryan Siebe.

As a courtroom filled with Jennings’ friends and family looked on with teary eyes, Stephenson – who has not admitted to taking Jennings’ life – showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Stephenson had no words for reporters as he left the courtroom to be escorted back to his jail cell.

“Hopefully now he’s starting to understand the full breadth of what he’s done. Hopefully he’ll be held accountable to that to the fullest degree,” said Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard.

While there is a verdict, the work in Dearborn Circuit Court is not done yet. The court convenes again Tuesday morning to begin testimony in the second phase of the trial in which jurors will decide whether to recommend life in prison without parole for Stephenson.

While hugging and shaking hands with detectives and prosecutors in the courthouse rotunda, Siebe said he is cautiously optimistic his mother’s killer will never be free again.

“We’re taking things one day at a time. Today was the primary goal. We’ll let the process continue tomorrow,” he said.

Cases in which a person is convicted of both Murder and Robbery are death penalty eligible. However, Negangard said the state has its reasons for not pursuing the death for Stephenson.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a death penalty case in Indiana where it was a ‘who done it’ murder, as this was. Since we didn’t have a confession, that was probably the primary factor in this case. We didn’t have a full-blown confession,” said the prosecutor.

Monday night’s verdict concluded a trial that lasted nine business days, not including two days of jury selection starting May 6.

LINKS:

Stephenson Closing Arguments Made; Jurors Deliberating

Verdict Possible Monday In Stephenson Trial