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Sumner man stands trial for murder Janelle Penny Photo, Defendant Lawrence Hamby confers with attorney Michael Bandy during a recess on Monday. Hamby is accused of killing Paul "Frank" McKinney of Sumner in 2006. by Janelle Penny, news@waverlynewspapers.com Published: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 9:14 AM CST Testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Lawrence Hamby continued Monday. The Sumner 27-year-old is accused of beating and strangling neighbor Paul “Frank” McKinney during the night of Jan. 17, 2006. On Monday, Hamby’s ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Meana, testified that Hamby attempted to camouflage McKinney’s death as a drug overdose. Meana, who lived in Sumner with Hamby at the time, told the jury that her then-boyfriend had gone to McKinney’s home to play video games with McKinney’s son, Nathan, who also lived at Frank’s residence. She felt a severe migraine coming on and called the McKinney house so Hamby could drive her to the hospital for treatment, but Hamby wasn’t there, Meana said. No one knew where Hamby was, Nate McKinney told the jury previously. McKinney rode with Meana to Community Memorial Hospital in Sumner and stayed through her treatment. When the two returned to the Sumner residence Meana and Hamby shared, Meana saw missed calls on her cell phone from an unknown number, which Nate McKinney recognized as his father’s home. About 15 minutes later, Meana said, Hamby arrived and was “frantic.” “He was driving Frank McKinney’s Blazer,” Meana testified. “[He said to Nate McKinney], ‘Your dad’s dead, dude. Your dad’s dead.’” Meana said Lawrence told her and Nate that while they were at the hospital, he heard “a commotion downstairs” and walked down to discover two men assaulting Frank and calling him “a snitch.” “Lawrence said, ‘I jumped into it and hit one of them and they ran out the door,’” Meana told the court. “Nate wanted to know, ‘Should I call the cops? What do I do?’ Lawrence said, ‘Don’t call the cops because they’ll think you did it... We’ll figure this out... We’ll handle this. We’ll take care of it.' Nate looked like he was scared, like he was about to panic.” The two went to McKinney’s house for about 15 minutes to survey the scene, Meana said. When they returned, she added, Hamby went into the bedroom and pocketed four of the Thorazine tablets Meana takes for anxiety. “He told me he wanted to go make it look like a drug overdose, a drug dealer gone bad,” Meana said. “...He was going to shoot him up... I don’t remember if it was Nate or Lawrence, went down in our basement and brought up a sack. There was needles and all kinds of stuff in there. Lawrence took one of the needles and had the Thorazine in his pocket, and they brought them over to Nate’s house.” The men went in Meana and Hamby’s living room to talk, said Meana, adding that she stayed in the kitchen and made something to eat. “I know Lawrence told Nate to just stay here and go home tomorrow, go home the next day,” Meana testified. “Just walk in and say you spent the night at our house on the couch... Say, ‘I just walked in and found my dad dead,’ and call 911 the next day.” The defense sought to cast doubt on Meana’s recollection of the night’s events, questioning her repeatedly about the lithium, Thorazine and sleeping medications she took daily and her history of using methamphetamine. After McKinney and Hamby returned from the second visit to Frank McKinney’s house, Meana said, she took a Thorazine and a prescription sleep aid and went to bed. “Do you recall what you told me during the deposition?” asked defense attorney Michael Bandy, handing Meana a copy of the deposition she gave on April 23, 2008. “What was it?” Meana answered, “That occasionally, there were some lapses in my memory... I can say I was talking like where I put the car keys and my purse and things like that. And if I remembered to check the mail. Small things, that’s what I meant.” Bandy quizzed Meana in detail about the night of Jan. 17, 2006, and the interview she gave to Sumner and state law enforcement officials the next day, where she told authorities Lawrence was at a friend’s Fairbank home fixing a computer. On Friday, A.J. McKinney, Nathan’s uncle, said he left work immediately after learning of his brother’s death on Jan. 18 and picked Nathan up from the Sumner police station, where he was first questioned about Frank’s death. Nathan stayed at A.J. McKinney’s home that night, where he was grilled by visiting family members, and used A.J.’s cell phone to call a detective the next morning, A.J. McKinney testified. “He said he couldn’t cover for that dude anymore,” McKinney said. A.J. McKinney’s wife asked Nathan if he planned to stick around for his father’s funeral, A.J. testified. He said Nathan was not crying and did not look distraught. “Did he look like he had a care about anything?” asked defense attorney Mike Lanigan. “He did not,” A.J. McKinney answered. Also testifying Friday were Department of Criminal Investigations officers Jeff Jacobson and Bill Basler, who worked on the case in 2006. Jacobson said he interviewed Nathan McKinney shortly after the incident and challenged his credibility several times. He and Basler described evidence collected at Frank McKinney’s home, including a bloodstained newspaper found on his doorstep and DNA samples collected from Nathan McKinney. Testimony will continue today, barring severe weather. The trial could last up to three weeks, County Attorney Kasey Wadding said. Hamby faces life in prison if convicted. Editor's note: This is the first installment in a series examining the murder trial of Lawrence Hamby.

Ex-girlfriend testifies in Sumner man’s murder trial Detective Dave McDonald (above) escorts Lawrence Hamby back to the Bremer County Jail after trial proceedings. Published: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:06 PM CST WAVERLY - Testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Lawrence Hamby continued Monday at the Bremer County Courthouse. The Sumner 27-year-old is accused of beating and strangling neighbor Paul “Frank” McKinney during the night of Jan. 17, 2006. On Monday, Hamby’s ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Meana, testified that Hamby attempted to camouflage McKinney’s death as a drug overdose. Meana, who lived in Sumner with Hamby at the time, told the jury that her then-boyfriend had gone to McKinney’s home to play video games with McKinney’s son, Nathan, who also lived at Frank’s residence. She felt a severe migraine coming on and called the McKinney house so Hamby could drive her to the hospital for treatment, but Hamby wasn’t there, Meana said. No one knew where Hamby was, Nate McKinney told the jury previously. McKinney rode with Meana to Community Memorial Hospital in Sumner and stayed through her treatment. When the two returned to the Sumner residence Meana and Hamby shared, Meana saw missed calls on her cell phone from an unknown number, which Nate McKinney recognized as his father’s home. About 15 minutes later, Meana said, Hamby arrived and was “frantic.” “He was driving Frank McKinney’s Blazer,” Meana testified. “[He said to Nate McKinney], ‘Your dad’s dead, dude. Your dad’s dead.’” Meana said Lawrence told her and Nate that while they were at the hospital, he heard “a commotion downstairs” and walked down to discover two men assaulting Frank and calling him “a snitch.” “Lawrence said, ‘I jumped into it and hit one of them and they ran out the door,’” Meana told the court. “Nate wanted to know, ‘Should I call the cops? What do I do?’ Lawrence said, ‘Don’t call the cops because they’ll think you did it... We’ll figure this out... We’ll handle this. We’ll take care of it.’ Nate looked like he was scared, like he was about to panic.” The two went to McKinney’s house for about 15 minutes to survey the scene, Meana said. When they returned, she added, Hamby went into the bedroom and pocketed four of the Thorazine tablets Meana takes for anxiety. “He told me he wanted to go make it look like a drug overdose, a drug dealer gone bad,” Meana said. “...He was going to shoot him up... I don’t remember if it was Nate or Lawrence, went down in our basement and brought up a sack. There was needles and all kinds of stuff in there. Lawrence took one of the needles and had the Thorazine in his pocket, and they brought them over to Nate’s house.” The men went in Meana and Hamby’s living room to talk, said Meana, adding that she stayed in the kitchen and made something to eat. “I know Lawrence told Nate to just stay here and go home tomorrow, go home the next day,” Meana testified. “Just walk in and say you spent the night at our house on the couch... Say, ‘I just walked in and found my dad dead,’ and call 911 the next day.” The defense sought to cast doubt on Meana’s recollection of the night’s events, questioning her repeatedly about the lithium, Thorazine and sleeping medications she took daily and her history of using methamphetamine. After McKinney and Hamby returned from the second visit to Frank McKinney’s house, Meana said, she took a Thorazine and a prescription sleep aid and went to bed. “Do you recall what you told me during the deposition?” asked defense attorney Michael Bandy, handing Meana a copy of the deposition she gave on April 23, 2008. “What was it?” Meana answered, “That occasionally, there were some lapses in my memory... I can say I was talking like where I put the car keys and my purse and things like that. And if I remembered to check the mail. Small things, that’s what I meant.” Bandy quizzed Meana in detail about the night of Jan. 17, 2006, and the interview she gave to Sumner and state law enforcement officials the next day, where she told authorities Lawrence was at a friend’s Fairbank home fixing a computer. On Friday, A.J. McKinney, Nathan’s uncle, said he left work immediately after learning of his brother’s death on Jan. 18 and picked Nathan up from the Sumner police station, where he was first questioned about Frank’s death. Nathan stayed at A.J. McKinney’s home that night, where he was grilled by visiting family members, and used A.J.’s cell phone to call a detective the next morning, A.J. McKinney testified. “He said he couldn’t cover for that dude anymore,” McKinney said. A.J. McKinney’s wife asked Nathan if he planned to stick around for his father’s funeral, A.J. testified. He said Nathan was not crying and did not look distraught. “Did he look like he had a care about anything?” asked defense attorney Mike Lanigan. “He did not,” A.J. McKinney answered. Also testifying Friday were Department of Criminal Investigations officers Jeff Jacobson and Bill Basler, who worked on the case in 2006. Jacobson said he interviewed Nathan McKinney shortly after the incident and challenged his credibility several times. He and Basler described evidence collected at Frank McKinney’s home, including a bloodstained newspaper found on his doorstep and DNA samples collected from Nathan McKinney. The trial could last up to three weeks, County Attorney Kasey Wadding said. Hamby faces life in prison if convicted. Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a series examining the murder trial of Lawrence Hamby.

Testimony heard in Bremer murder case

Testimony began in the first-degree murder trial of Lawrence Hamby, center, at the Bremer County Courthouse Monday, Jan. 7, 2009, in Waverly. Here defense lawyers Michael Lanigan, left, and Michael Bandy confer during opening remarks. (RICK CHASE / COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

WAVERLY --- He didn't lead a charmed life. There was heavy drinking and illicit drug use. But that didn't mean Paul "Frank" McKinney should have been killed, attorneys said Wednesday.

Authorities found McKinney, 52, of Sumner, dead in his home in January 2006. Just who killed him was a matter of debate during testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Lawrence Hamby, 25, of Sumner.

"Frank McKinney wasn't a perfect man, but I think we can decide at this point in the trial, he didn't deserve to die," said Michael Bandy, one of Hamby's defense attorneys.

Bremer County Attorney Kasey Wadding said during opening statements that Hamby, who is friends with McKinney's son, Nathan, beat and strangled McKinney during the night. Hamby allegedly told Nathan McKinney at about midnight that two men beat his father up.

After the murder, Hamby convinced Nathan McKinney and Hamby's girlfriend to concoct a cover story. Hamby told them he was afraid the killing would get pinned on them, Wadding said.

McKinney and Hamby allegedly injected the body with Thorazine, a painkiller prescribed to Hamby's girlfriend for migraines, to throw off investigators and didn't call police for nearly 12 hours.

Investigators later recovered a belt in Hamby's house, which is within walking distance of McKinney's home, hidden in a cupboard. The belt had McKinney's DNA on it. Hamby also told several inconsistent stories to investigators, Wadding added.

Defense attorneys countered blame isn't on the right person, alleging Hamby had no motive to kill McKinney. Hamby also never made any statements about killing McKinney, either to McKinney's son or to police, Bandy argued.

"We don't think there's enough evidence to show that my client, Lawrence Hamby, killed Frank McKinney," Bandy said. "So the question becomes who killed Frank McKinney?"

Bandy accused Nathan

McKinney of assaulting his father, stating there was "no love lost" between the men.

Nathan McKinney told jurors he first met his father when he was 16 years old and living in Lafayette, Ind. His mother was in a nursing home because of failing health and he was moving from place to place at the time.

"That was the first time of me even seeing him," Nathan McKinney said.

Witnesses told jurors McKinney was afraid of his son because of past fights, and a friend, Michelle Otterbein, said McKinney stayed at her house occasionally because of the incidents.

"It wasn't good," Otterbein said.

She also recalled McKinney had once had an argument with Hamby.

McKinney was a fixture at TA's Lounge and was a welder at Lifeline Emergency Vehicles, a firm that manufactures ambulances. Friends recalled him being good-natured. Otterbein said McKinney could have been a "functional alcoholic."

The night of his death, witnesses said they saw McKinney in a good mood after a long day at work. At about 9:30 p.m., he went home.

Otterbein said the next time she saw McKinney, he was lying on his living room and was not breathing. She said she was called to McKinney's house after Nathan McKinney phoned her husband to say McKinney was dead.

Roger Bahe, former director of Sumner EMS, testified he was dispatched at about 1 p.m. He said he saw signs of an assault, including blood in the corner of McKinney's mouth.

Photos shown in court showed McKinney's face and neck covered in red marks. His glasses were next to him on the floor. A preliminary examination showed he had been dead for several hours, said Dr. Lee Fagre, the Bremer County medical examiner.

Nathan McKinney's testimony continues today in Bremer County District Court. The trial is expected to last three weeks, Wadding said.

Contact Josh Nelson at (319) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.