Dad found guilty of murdering wife, mother of two children (Nacogdoches, Texas)

Dad KYLE BARNHILL has been found guilty in the murder of his wife, the mother of their 3-year-old and 10-year-old children. Despite all the enabling idiots supporting dad, he was clearly an abusive husband. Mom had filed for a restraining order and a divorce before the murder.

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11246873

Kyle Barnhill gets life in prison for killing wife
Posted: Oct 02, 2009 10:40 AM CDT
Updated: Oct 02, 2009 1:26 PM CDT

NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) - After deliberating for 48 minutes, a Nacogdoches County jury has given Kyle Barnhill the maximum sentence of life in prison for killing his wife.

A life sentence was the maximum penalty for a murder charge. He is also ordered to pay $10,000. He will be eligible for parole in 30 years.

Defense Attorney Bill Agnew had no comment on the sentence, but was seen telling District Judge Ed Klein he would file an appeal.

"On March 11, 2009, Kyle Barnhill rocked the world of his entire family," Nicole LoStracco said in a closing statement.

LoStracco walked jurors through the whole night of the murder and explained it was not a crime of passion, explaining how if it was a crime of passion, the passion must arise at the time of the offense.

"At the time of the offense the only thing she was doing was getting a corndog out of the freezer," she said.

LoStracco called the crime "ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."

"Mr. Barnhill didn't just kill Melissa, he took away a friend, he took away a favorite employee ..." LoStracco said. "And he took away a mommy of three-year-old and 10-year-old."

Kyle Barnhill's defense attorney, Bill Agnew, asked jurors to understand his client has redeeming qualities and though he made a very serious mistake, not to judge him on just that one mistake.

"He snapped ..." Agnew said. "What he did was horrible, I'm not here to defend that."

Agnew said Kyle Barnhill's situation with his wife made him murder her.

"Mr. Barnhill was in a very, very, very vulnerable situation and it's not an excuse ... he's going to the penitentiary," he said.

Agnew said Kyle Barnhill is also hurting from what he did.

District Judge Ed Klein explained to the jury that they must determine if Kyle Barnhill's crime was one of passion in order to determine the punishment range.

Sentencing testimony in the Kyle Barnhill murder trial wrapped up by 10 a.m. Friday, and jurors are determining a sentence.

After calling just one to testify during the trial, Defense Attorney Bill Agnew called two to testify in the sentencing phase, including Kyle Barnhill's father, Charles.

Charles Barnhill described his son as one who "had a very normal childhood, was raised in church" and "a typical kid that was raised in town."

He fought back tears through the testimony.

He made no plea for the jury to have mercy on his son, but did say he wanted jurors to know how much he "thought of his children," saying he spent a lot of time with them and took care of them when Melissa Barnhill was working.

Kyle Barnhill's fifth-grade teacher, Betty Young, also testified for the defense, who said she was not subpoenaed, but came on her own.

She said she kept in contact with Kyle Barnhill up until the last 10 years before his arrest, and had gotten back in touch with him since then.

"He was a very unusual, exceptional student and child ..." she said.

Like Kyle Barnhill claimed a day earlier, Young said she did not think he was thinking straight when he killed his wife.

"He couldn't have done anything like this in his right mind."

Before those testimonies, the state called Joan Hill and Teresa Ferell, two former co-workers of Melissa Barnhill, to the stand.

Hill said she recruited Melissa Barnhill at Nacogdoches Medical Center. Through tears, Hill described her as a "very good nurse, one of the best" and "kind ... caring and her patients loved her."

Hill said Melissa Barnhill approached her after she had filed for divorce, so she could have time off to be with her daughters, but she never had a chance to do that before her death.

Ferrell said Melissa Barnhill was friendly with everyone and was amazed at how many from the hospital, from many different departments, attended her funeral.

Ferrell said she brought Melissa Barnhill to the courtroom when she filed for a restraining order on Kyle Barnhill, and he attempted to see her at the hospital before the males at the hospital went to confront him.

Check back here at KTRE.com for a wrap up of the week's testimony. And tonight on KTRE's East Texas News hear why the state decided to put the Barnhills' 11 year old daughter on the witness stand and what's next in the Barnhill case.

Kyle Barnhill was found guilty Thursday of murdering his wife on March 11. He had admitted on the stand to murdering her. The jury took less than 30 minutes to return a verdict.