Tag: kentucky death row

Kevin Wayne Dunlap was sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for three murders. According to court documents Kevin Dunlap entered the home and murdered a five year old boy, a fourteen year old girl and a seventeen year old girl. Kevin Wayne Dunlap would sexually assault the mother before stabbing her. Thinking the woman was dead Dunlap would set the house on fire to cover his crimes. Kevin Wayne Dunlap would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

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Dunlap was sentenced to death on March 19, 2010, in Livingston County. On October 15, 2008, Dunlap stabbed an killed a 5 year old boy and his 14 and 17 year old sisters in their home. He then raped and attempted to murder their mother by stabbing her with a knife. When he thought that the mother was dead, he set fire to the home and left. He was arrested on October 18, 2008. He was convicted of the following crimes: 3 counts of Murder (Capital); 3 counts of Kidnapping-Victim Death (Capital); Kidnapping-With Serious Physical Injury;  Rape 1st Degree with Serious Physical Injury; Arson 1st Degree; Criminal Attempt-Murder; Burglary 1st Degree; 3 counts of Tampering With Physical Evidence.

Kevin Wayne Dunlap Other News

On October 15, 2008, Kevin Lee Dunlap approached Kristy Frensley while she was working in her yard. Kristy’s house was for sale and Appellant asked if she would show it to him. Once inside, Appellant put a gun to her head, zip tied her hands and ankles, and moved her to her bedroom. Shortly thereafter, Kristy’s three children, Kayla Williams, 17, Kortney Frensley, 14, and Ethan Frensley, 5, returned home from school. Appellant pushed all three children into the bedroom and tied Kayla and Kortney with zip ties and Ethan with pantyhose. He then took the children to a different part of the house.

Kevin Lee Dunlap returned to Kristy’s bedroom and raped her. After giving her a shower, he placed Kristy in her bed, began to strangle her, and attempted to smother her with a pillow. After that, he began cutting her neck. He briefly left the room; when he returned he stabbed Kristy in her left ear and twice in her lower back. Kristy later learned that Appellant had broken off a butter knife in her neck at the handle that had to be surgically removed. Kristy pretended that she was dead by lying still and slowing her breathing. Appellant covered her with a blanket and left the room. Feeling smothered by the blanket, Kristy moved so that her nose was uncovered and she could see.

Kevin Lee Dunlap poured flammable liquid on the floor of the bedroom and set the bedroom on fire. From her position, Kristy could see Ethan across the hall lying on a pile of pillows. Kristy attempted to rescue him but before she could do so her foot caught fire. She then discovered her legs were not functioning properly and rolled off of her bed to the bedroom’s French doors which led to the pool deck. She pulled one of the door handles with her foot but her legs failed her again and she got stuck in the doorframe. Eventually, with her hands still tied, she managed to roll into the pool where a Sheriff’s deputy later found her.

The fire caught the attention of neighbors and passers-by and Kayla’s body was seen through a window; they punched out the window with their fists and pulled her body outside. The fire was so hot that when they pulled her body out her skin came off in their hands. Kayla’s hands were still tied and her mouth was gagged with pantyhose; her throat had been cut from ear to ear, deep enough that her trachea was visible. A steak knife blade was protruding from her back through her sweater. Remarkably, Kayla was still alive, gasping for breath and gurgling. Two women attempted CPR, but Kayla died in the yard from her wounds.

The fire destroyed the home, burning Kortney and Ethan’s bodies. An autopsy revealed that Ethan had two stab wounds to the chest (including one that penetrated his heart), six stab wounds to his back and one to his stomach. Kortney had three stab wounds to her chest that penetrated the left lung and one stab wound to the right side of the neck. The doctor who performed the children’s autopsies testified that all three children died from the stab wounds.

Based on an eyewitness description of a vehicle seen at the Frensley’s house that day, a search warrant was issued for Appellant’s home. Law enforcement officers seized several items linking him to the Frensley massacre. Forensic analysts at the Kentucky State Crime Lab examined the seized items and a “rape kit” that medical personnel had performed on Kristy. A vaginal swab revealed that DNA inside Kristy matched Kevin Dunlap.¹ The analyst also discovered DNA on the driver’s side seatbelt of Appellant’s truck that matched Kristy’s.² Additionally, Kortney’s DNA was found on Appellant’s tennis shoes.³

Kevin Lee Dunlap was indicted by a Trigg County Grand Jury for three counts each of capital murder, capital kidnapping, and tampering with physical evidence; and one count each of attempted murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree arson, and first-degree rape. Upon joint motion by the Commonwealth and Appellant, the Trigg Circuit Court granted a change of venue to the Livingston Circuit Court. Thereafter, the Commonwealth’s Attorney gave notice that he was seeking the death penalty.

Two months prior to trial, Kevin Lee Dunlap was sent to the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center (KCPC) for a thirty-day evaluation of his competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility. The Livingston Circuit Court held a competency hearing on January 22, 2010, approximately three weeks prior to the trial date. The court heard the testimony of Dr. Amy Trivette, the psychiatrist supervising Appellant’s evaluation at KCPC, who testified that Appellant understood the nature and consequences of the charges against him and had a general understanding of the courtroom proceedings and the individuals involved. Consistent with this testimony, the trial court found Appellant competent to stand trial.

About one month prior to trial, a CT scan revealed two non-specific hyper-attenuated punctuate foci—essentially, abnormal spots—on the right frontal lobe of Appellant’s brain. Defense counsel requested a PET scan and an MRI, and moved the trial court for a continuance so the results of these tests could be fully examined. The trial court permitted the tests but denied the continuance. About a week before trial was to begin, the tests revealed that Appellant had an arterial venous malformation (AVM) on his right frontal lobe, measuring approximately one cubic inch—a tangle of arteries and veins existed where cortical matter would be on a normally-developed brain.

The day before jury selection was to begin, Kevin Lee Dunlap informed the court that he wanted to change his plea from Not Guilty to Guilty But Mentally Ill (GBMI). He also informed the court that if it did not accept his GBMI plea then he wished to enter a plea of Guilty. In light of the newly discovered AVM, defense counsel moved to stay the proceedings and have Appellant reevaluated. After hearing testimony from Appellant’s expert witness, Dr. Michael Nicholas, the trial court denied counsel’s request to stay the proceedings, rejected Appellant’s request to plead GBMI, and accepted his Guilty plea.

Kevin Lee Dunlap reserved his right to be sentenced by a jury for his capital convictions, and a capital sentencing proceeding began on February 10, 2010, lasting two weeks. After deliberating for three hours, the jury recommended a death sentence on each of the capital offenses; the trial court adopted its recommendation. Appellant waived jury sentencing on the non-capital charges, and the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment for kidnapping, rape, and arson; twenty years’ imprisonment for attempted murder and burglary; and five years’ imprisonment for each of the tampering convictions. The twenty-year sentences and the five-year sentences were to run consecutively to one another, for a total of fifty-five years, and concurrently with the life sentences which, by law, must run concurrently with one another. Mabe v. Commonwealth, 884 S.W.2d 668, 673 (Ky.1994) (citing Bedell v. Commonwealth, 870 S.W.2d 779, 783 (Ky.1993)). Additional facts will be provided where relevant to our analysis.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1635969.html

Kevin Wayne Dunlap Death

A western Kentucky man on death row for killing three children, raping their mother and setting their home ablaze has died, officials said Tuesday.

Kevin Wayne Dunlap, 51, died Sunday after being transported to a hospital from the Kentucky Penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky Department of Corrections spokeswomen Lisa Lamb said. She said federal regulations prevented her from releasing any further information.

Dunlap pleaded guilty in 2010 to attacking the woman in 2008 and killing her children at the home in Roaring Springs before burning it to the ground. A jury recommended a death sentence.

Dunlap approached the victim as she worked in the yard and asked to see the house, which was for sale, on Oct. 15, 2008. Once inside, he pulled a gun and zip-tied her hands and ankles. When the children came home, he tied them up and put them in a different part of the house

The children killed in the attack were ages 5, 14 and 17. A medical examiner determined each of the children died from multiple stab wounds.

After being raped and stabbed, the mother faked her own death and escaped the burning home.

Defense attorneys sought to have the death sentence vacated, but the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld it. Justices found that a judge committed no errors in allowing Dunlap to admit to the killings and have a jury decide only if he would be condemned to death or face a lesser sentence