Jury finds Kennedy guilty of murder | News, Sports, Jobs

Charles Crane/MDN Ward County Assistant Prosecutor John Michael Gonzalez delivers closing arguments for the prosecution in Kamauri Kennedy's murder trial, saying Kennedy was the only person with the means, motive and opportunity to kill Domonique Kelley on June 3, 2021.

Kamauri Kennedy, 35, was found guilty of the murder of Domonique Kelley after a jury deliberation lasting three and a half hours.

The 12-person jury found Kennedy guilty after five days of testimony concluded on Monday. Kennedy's defense called no witnesses. Closing arguments were made on Tuesday.

Before hearing closing arguments, the jury was informed by North Central District Judge Gary Lee that, at the request of Kennedy's attorney, William Harvey Skees, the court had concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the charge of conspiracy to commit murder. The court would disregard that point in its deliberations, leaving only the Class AA murder charge.

Ward County Assistant Prosecutor John Michael Gonzalez delivered the prosecution’s closing argument, saying: “It has been a long three years for the victim’s family.”

Gonzalez reviewed the various elements of the state's case through a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the 25 witnesses, five experts, five locations and three vehicles presented during the trial. In his closing argument, Gonzalez emphasized the group work that went into investigating Kelley's death and the subsequent actions taken by Kennedy to cover up his involvement.

Gonzalez explained the timeline of the case, saying the case was sparked in part by encounters between the two and police on May 19, 2021, at an apartment used by a drug ring in which Kennedy was involved, as well as a traffic stop of Kelley's vehicle on June 2, 2021, at 10:35 p.m. initiated by investigators with the Ward County Narcotics Task Force.

The state's indictment linked Kennedy to a drug ring run by Detroit resident Eric Williams that operated properties in Minot that were leased to Williams' girlfriend, Ashley Gibson. Kennedy eventually used a Chrysler 300 that Gibson had bought with cash to flee North Dakota before setting it on fire under a bridge in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Gonzalez acknowledged that Gibson's statements and comments to investigators likely contained some fabrications, as he said she was trying to protect Kennedy, with whom she is close friends. However, Gonzalez said Gibson was part of a “sophisticated operation”, who had amassed large sums of money through their activities in the Minot area and on nearby reservations. Both Williams and Gibson were convicted in federal court for their roles in the operation.

The last known communication between Kelley and Kennedy occurred at approximately 12:18 a.m. on June 3, 2021, with Kennedy's location linked to the IP address of a residence at 717½ 1st Ave. SE in Minot. Kelley's Impala and a GMC Yukon XL were later seen together driving northbound through Minot at Farstad Oil at 100 27th St. NE at 12:37 a.m. According to the indictment's chronology, only 25 minutes passed between that last communication and the time BNSF employee Matthew Phillips spotted Kelley's Impala on fire.

ATF Agent Derek Hill's testimony showed Kelley was still breathing and alive at the time the fire started based on CO2 levels. Gonzalez said Kelley's cause of death was determined by Dr. Barrie Miller of the State Crime Lab to be carbon monoxide poisoning with thermal trauma from the fire. Kelley's remains were identified through a DNA comparison with those of her mother.

Gonzalez said Kelley was murdered by Kennedy because “Noise” She had arranged for the operation after an incident had occurred between the two in one of the emergency services' rented residences and the traffic stop had led to a charge of marijuana possession.

“He tried to run away and cover it up. He hoped he would never be sitting here today.” said Gonzalez. “He tried to erase her completely. He tried to erase the memory of Domonique Kelley. Why? Because it's good for business.”

Skees said his client was charged with a “targeted investigations” while ignoring other potential suspects. Skees questioned why the state's evidence did not include Kelley's phone records, which could have implicated other people in her death. Skees said there are many unanswered questions in the case that were intentionally left unexplored, such as DNA evidence linked to another member of the drug ring, Jason Arnold, and he just wanted to “the right person to be held accountable.”

“They ask questions and hope that you will fill in the gaps with information that you have to glean from evidence that has nothing directly to do with the defendant other than that Jane Doe was killed.” Said Skees. “Look at what they could have done. Look at what they didn't do. You don't ask questions you don't want the answers to. They didn't ask the question because they were afraid of the answer. Instead, let's focus on one person from the beginning.”

Kennedy faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction. Kennedy's sentencing has not yet been set, but he is scheduled to appear in North Central District Court on October 4 to attend a preliminary hearing in another case.

Kennedy is charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon by an inmate, among other things, for allegedly attacking another inmate in the Ward County Jail with an improvised weapon.