GUILTY AL - Kathleen "Kat" West, 42, murdered, Calera, 13 Jan 2018 *husband arrested*

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Betty P said:
The tweet at your link says the judge ruled he will not allow the jury to consider criminally negligent homicide. I wonder who requested that?

Also, below is a professional photo of a Lucid Absinthe bottle. It has a unique shape in that it's rounded at the top, but squares off at the bottom. The "squared" part of the bottle has rounded edges, hence the pathologist's opinion that her blunt trauma injury was caused by the bottle. If West held it by the neck, as his fingerprint indicates, he would have struck the left side of her head with the lower part of the bottle, with the rounded edges.

Lucid-Absinthe-Sup%C3%A9rieure-030-photo-copyright-Cheri-Loughlin.jpg


Second twitter down from the one linked above:



Apparently, the defense objected to a charge of reckless manslaughter. Will have to wait for more updates from reporters.
Click to expand...

Absinthe - The Green Fairy, it has an interesting history and notorious reputation. However, personally I suspect that Absinthe's reputation is greatly exaggerated.

Absinthe - Wikipedia
From Wikipedia: "Absinthe became associated with violent crimes and social disorder ….. One critic claimed:

"Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country."



Banned — Absinthe: The Demon Drink Of Madness And Depravity

"Absinthe lives in our collective cultural consciousness as the drink that shook the world, inducing madness, hallucinations, violence and depravity in anyone who drank it. It seems indeed like the ‘green fairy’ plays the part of a perverted drunken muse for all kinds of misbehaviour."

"Absinthe became a drink associated with madness and societal depravity, a fuel for the unrest and rampant lax morals of the bourgeoisie and working classes alike. It even became associated with some of history’s most eccentric individuals, including; Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and Ernest Hemingway, further adding to the notoriety."
 
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GrilledCheezy said:
From the article:

"She also confirmed that Kathleen purchased a bottle of Lucid Absinthe that cost $74.99 and her husband purchased a $35.99 bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey."

They each paid for their items separately? That seems odd to me. When my husband and I go to the liquor store, one of us pays for everything; there's no divvying up the purchases. This makes me wonder if she had a business account for tax purposes and was planning to use the absinthe as some sort of prop for a photo/video session and write it off?
Click to expand...

Kathleen bought and presumably drank the Absinthe while Jeff bought the Jameson Irish Whiskey. I'm surprised that the defense didn't bring up Absinthe's reputation and suggest that the drink caused her behavior which led to her death.

Please note that I am not blaming Kathleen for her own demise. I am merely saying that the defense attorneys missed a good opportunity to deflect blame away from their client.
 
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MajorHoople said:
Kathleen bought and presumably drank the Absinthe while Jeff bought the Jameson Irish Whiskey. I'm surprised that the defense didn't bring up Absinthe's reputation and suggest that the drink caused her behavior which led to her death.

Please note that I am not blaming Kathleen for her own demise. I am merely saying that the defense attorneys missed a good opportunity to deflect blame away from their client.
Click to expand...

Lucid Absinthe Supérieure Review | The Intoxicologist

“The flavor of Lucid is an acquired taste for sure. Straight out of the bottle and into a glass, the flavor is too strong for me to say the very least. But I wanted a clear picture of what I was getting into with this tasting. Even though there is no sugar in the bottling of Lucid itself, there seems to be just a hint of sweetness in the finish. Possibly this stems from the neutral spirit the herbs are distilled in. The taste of licorice is extreme. If you are a fan of licorice, this is a spirit for you.”

I don’t like licorice so I wouldn’t like sipping this liquor. And I’d better really like a liquor to spend $75.

USA-approved absinthe must test thujone-free, thujone to absinthe is what caffeine is to coffee: it's what gives it its "buzz".

Perhaps Kathleen bought it thinking it might produce hallucinations or a different type buzz. It’s an odd choice JMO.
 
Absinthe does not cause hallucinations. It is 45% alcohol which is about 90 proof however. It is generally sipped after dissolving a sugar cube into a small amount - absinthe glasses are marked - with water. It tastes like licorice which I do not like but I have indulged a time or two since it is legal in the U.S. now. It did not cause me to think crazy or act crazy, no more than normal. I have not seen the Green Fairy. Yet.
 
have a discrepancy??



Malique
@MaliqueRankin
·
8h
The judge accepted the verdict, sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan 11 at 1:30 pm, the earliest available date.

link: https://twitter.com/MaliqueRankin



carol robinson
@RobinsonCarol
·
8h
The jury has been released. Jeff West will be sentenced Jan 12,2021. His bond is currently set at $500,000. There is a discussion about that happening now.

link: https://twitter.com/RobinsonCarol



and from an article:

Bostick revoked Jeff West’s $500,000 bond and he will remain jailed until he is sentenced on Jan. 11, 2021 -- almost three years to the day authorities say Kat West was killed.

link: Kat West trial: Jeff West found guilty of reckless manslaughter


so 2 to 1 - I'll go with the Jan. 11th date for sentencing....
 
Update! That way I can shorten this up a bit for the sentencing post.

Friday, Nov. 20th:
*Trial continues (Day 4)-VERDICT REACHED! (@ 10am CT) – AL – Kathleen Dawn “Kat” West (42) (Jan. 12, 2018, Calera) – *William Jeffrey West (44/now 46) (husband) arrested (2/22/18), indicted (3/7/18) & arraigned (4/9/18) with murder. Held on $500K bond. Plead not guilty. Bond reduction denied.
Trial began with jury selection on 11/16/20 & trial began on 11/17/20 & ended on 11/20/20.
After nearly 5 hours of deliberations, a Shelby County jury found West guilty of reckless manslaughter.
Court info from 8/23/18 thru 11/16/20 re jury selection & Trial 11/17-11/19/20 (Day 1-3) reference post #847 here:
AL - Kathleen "Kat" West, 42, murdered, Calera, 13 Jan 2018 *husband arrested*
11/20/20 Friday Day 4 of Trial: State witness: Dr. Stephen Boudreau, an expert in forensic pathology, conducted the autopsy on Kat West. He said a significant amount of force must have been used to cause Kat’s head injuries. He said it’s pretty unlikely a fall could have caused this injury. Said because of the nature of Kat’s injury, if the injury did not occur in the area where her body was found, there would have been a blood trail. There was no blood trail. The state rested their case. The judge & Jeff West’s attorney John Robbins said we can expect to see Jeff take the stand & testify. Defense witness: Nancy Martin (Kat's mother). The state did not be cross examining Kat’s mother. West changed his mind in testifying, saying instead he will exercise his right to remain silent. The court allowed West to confer with his & Kat’s family members about taking the stand. His attorney has also advised him on the repercussions testifying can carry. Defense rests. Closing arguments (were after lunch). The state & the defense have given their closing arguments. The defense took 3x as long to make their case. The prosecution will now give their final rebuttal before it’s left to the jury to decide. The defense objected to a charge of reckless manslaughter. Judge ruled he will not allow the jury to consider criminally negligent homicide. The jury is expected to begin their deliberations about 5pm. The jury is now deliberating. They will decide to charge Jeff West with murder, reckless manslaughter, or find him not guilty. After nearly two hours (another tweet says after 1 hour) of deliberation, jurors have three questions for the judge. Question 1: jurors asked for help finding the photos that show the health app data from both Kat & Jeff’s phones. The judge said they will help them locate this piece of evidence. Question 2: jurors asked when the time of death of Kat was called. The judge said he cannot comment on evidence, and that the jury will have to sort this out themselves. Questions 3: jurors requested better body cam video of a police officer talking with Jeff. The judge said better video cannot be provided, but they can help jurors in playing the video. 7pm: Jurors are back to deliberating on convicting West. 10pm: The jury has decided, there is a verdict. Verdict: West is found guilty of reckless manslaughter in the murder of Kat. West will be held in jail for 60 days, until the sentencing hearing. Reckless manslaughter is the lesser charge. It is a Class B felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison. The judge accepted the verdict & the jurors are released. Sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1/11/21 at 1:30m, the earliest available date. West’s bond was revoked. He will stay in jail until sentencing.
 
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