The suspect accused of the 2015 Pembroke triple murder appeared in Christian Circuit Court Thursday afternoon with his attorneys to discuss several matters pertaining to evidence in the case.
Christian Martin, 52, appeared in court via Zoom while at the Christian County Jail while his defense attorney Tom Griffiths appeared from his office and Doug Moore appeared in person in Circuit Court Judge John Atkinsâ courtroom.
Griffiths began the meeting by requesting an evidentiary hearing be set to argue against a shell casing being used as evidence in the upcoming trial.
âWe were seeking to have an evidentiary hearing on a different day and my motion is to set a hearing so that we can hear from the witnesses and determine the chain of custody issue,â Griffiths said to the court.
Karen Brafman
A special prosecutor has been assigned to the case of a Cerulean woman who was previously convicted of attempted murder and arson connected with a 2018 fire.
Karen Brafman, attorney Eric Bearden, and Assistant Attorney General Jim Lesousky appeared virtually before Christian Circuit Judge John Atkins Thursday afternoon to discuss a possible reduction in bond.
Brafman was found guilty of first-degree arson, second-degree arson, and six counts of attempted murder by a jury and given a life sentence. The charges came after authorities said she set fire to a mobile home on Princeton Road in May 2018. The home had four children and two adults inside at the time the fire began.
Hopkinsville, KY, USA / WHOP 1230 AM | News Radio
Apr 29, 2021 3:58 PM
Christian Circuit Judge John Atkins is seeking more information from both sides before making a determination on whether to reduce bond for Karen Brafman, the woman charged with attempted murder and arson for allegedly setting fire to a mobile home with a family inside.
A jury in 2019 found Karen Brafman guilty of first-degree arson, second-degree arson and six counts of attempted murder and gave her a life sentence. She allegedly set fire to a mobile home on Princeton Road with six people inside, including four children, in May of 2018.
The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the decision in December, saying she was denied a fair trial when Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling opposed her using a defense that she was intoxicated even though he knew she had been at the time of the crime.
Court records show a request for the case’s dismissal was filed last week with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, May 26.
Brafman was found guilty of first-degree arson, second-degree arson, and six counts of attempted murder by a jury and given a life sentence. The charges came after authorities said she set fire to a mobile home on Princeton Road in May 2018. The home had four children and two adults inside at the time the fire began.
In December, the Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the lower court decision and said Brafman was denied a fair trial when Boling opposed the defense motive of intoxication.
Following the reversal of the verdict against Karen Brafman, 35, who is accused of setting fire to a mobile home with several people inside, Brafman appeared in Christian Circuit Judge John Atkinsâ court Wednesday morning with her new defense attorneys.
Brafman appeared via Zoom while at the Christian County Jail along with her defense attorneys Eric Bearden and Doug Moore.
Moore shared with the court that he had recently entered an appearance to represent Brafman alongside Bearden and explained that he intends to file several motions to the court.
Moore explained that he had already submitted a bond review motion in the case, but is almost finished with submitting a second motion.