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Apr 10, 2008 1:34 pm US/Eastern
Mistrial Declared In Antifreeze Murder Case
WOBURN, Mass. (AP) ―
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James Keown pleaded not guilty in November 2005.
CBS4
A mistrial has been declared in the case of a former Missouri radio reporter accused of killing his wife by lacing Gatorade with antifreeze.
Testimony in the trial of James Keown was originally scheduled to begin Monday, but was delayed after a defense expert underwent emergency surgery and was unavailable to testify. On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Geraldine Hines granted a mistrial and set a new trial date of June 9.
Keown is charged in the 2004 death of his wife, Julie Oldag Keown.
Prosecutors say he slowly poisoned her by pouring antifreeze into her Gatorade.
Investigators say Keown, who lived with his wife in Waltham, was in debt and killed his wife for insurance money. Keown is a former reporter and talk show host at a radio station in Jefferson City, Mo.
Hines granted the mistrial after Keown's lawyers said a key defense expert, Dr. Richard Hellman, would be unable to testify immediately because of his surgery. Hellman is a professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine who specializes in kidney disease.
About a month before her death, Julie Keown was admitted to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where an MRI showed her kidneys had been damaged.
Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said prosecutors are prepared to go forward with the trial in June.
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