Several Murder Trials Taking Place At Tulsa Co. Courthouse

Three new Tulsa County murder trials began Monday. District attorneys say this is the busiest they've been all year.

Monday, October 19th 2009, 5:49 pm

By: News On 6

Several Murder Trials Taking Place At Tulsa Co. Courthouse

By Jeffrey Smith, The News On 6

TULSA COUNTY -- This week, Tulsa County courtrooms are packed with several murder trials.

Three new murder trials began Monday. Three suspects are in court, all charged with first degree murder.

The Tulsa County DA's Office says this is the busiest they've been all year.

"We're definitely very busy. It's a busy time of the year," said Steve Kunzweiler, Assistant District Attorney.

Rashad Easley is one of the four people on trial for murder. He's accused of driving his friends so they could shoot up a car he believed was carrying rival gang members. But police say the victims weren't gang members. The car was full of teens on their way back from church. The shooting claimed the life of one teenager and seriously injured three others.

In another trial this week, Kyle Moore is charged with stabbing Kevin Jones to death in his own apartment. Police say Moore was a drifter and Jones had opened his home in friendship.

The third case involves a homeless man who was tied to a tree in an alley and beaten to death.

Kunzweiler says autumn is always the busiest time of year for major trials because judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses have to align their schedules.

"We're not going to be doing a lot of cases in December and late November, just because of the holiday seasons," said Steve Kunzweiler.

It's a common expression that the wheels of justice grind slowly. And it generally holds true. By the time a murder suspect is arrested, charged, arraigned, bound over for trial after a preliminary hearing and then tried in court, often times more than a year has passed.