Published: May 08, 2008 11:33 pm            

Jurors consider fate of arson suspect

Terri Beth Kerr was the last person at a Richland Township business before it burned in 2002, but prosecutors admit they can’t show how the fire started.

Those are some of the issues jurors weighed during seven hours of deliberation Thursday in U.S. District Court in Johnstown.

The six-man, six-woman jury was sent home just before 7:30 p.m. Thursday, with instructions to return to start fresh at 9 a.m. today in U.S. District Court in Johnstown.

Kerr, who also uses the surname Miller, is charged in a $1 million fire that destroyed Miller Pools and Skis on Dec. 16, 2002.

Earlier Thursday, the prosecutor and defense attorney gave closing arguments, each suggesting how jurors should consider evidence in the case – much of which is circumstantial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun Sweeney recalled testimony by former employees who said Kerr asked them to torch the store for $10,000 or $5,000, and by Kerr’s former boyfriend who said she admitted setting the fire with a kerosene heater.

“You have a person who wanted something done, asked several people to do it, it happened and then admitted they did it,” Sweeney said.

But defense attorney Art McQuillan said in his closing argument that the prosecution did not prove anything.

“It took them two days and 19 witnesses, and they did not come close to proving a crime was committed,” McQuillan said.

He cited testimony by Kerr’s former lover, Daniel Krens. On Dec. 16, 2002, Krens testified that Kerr bet him $500 she would burn down the store that day.

She later admitted doing it and collected the bet, Krens said Tuesday.

But Krens was married during his affair with Kerr. He initially denied anything for a grand jury investigation, and changed his story only after prosecutors gave him immunity.

“The government is trying to bootstrap their case with a sleazeball,” McQuillan said.

Sweeney countered that it wasn’t easy for Krens to do the right thing.

“People don’t lie to hurt themselves,” Sweeney said. “By coming forward with information that he provided, he voluntarily brought out an affair he was having. He’d have to tell his wife and his kids. He knew his world was going to come crashing down.”

Expert witness Special Agent William Grom of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives did not prove there was an arson, McQuillan continued.

“After 51/2 years of investigation, here are his conclusions,” McQuillan said, pointing to a poster quoting Grom’s final report.

“The area of origin of the fire is undetermined,” McQuillan read. “Therefore, the fire cause is undetermined.”

That issue may have divided the panel, based on a question jurors submitted to U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson late Thursday afternoon.

“Because the origin and cause of the fire is undetermined, does that fall under the definition of reasonable doubt?” jurors asked in a note.

The judge told jurors to consider all the evidence, noting it is not his role to decide if something creates enough doubt.

With that, the jurors were sent back to deliberate more, only to submit another question just before 6:30 p.m.

“At what point do we relay we are deadlocked, or will the judge inquire at some point if we are deadlocked?” the jurors asked.

Gibson responded that a jury is deadlocked if it cannot reach a unanimous verdict.

Sending jurors home, Gibson noted, “It’s not unusual that you have not reached agreement at this point. Come back and start again tomorrow when you are fresh.”

        

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