A Franklin man let a 16-year-old Dayton resident die so he could cover up his drug-driven rampage on the teen, prosecutors told a Warren County jury today.
Both defense and prosecuting attorneys agreed it’s unlikely Michael Jay Watson, 40, who’s on trial for charges, including aggravated murder, related to the Dec. 1 death of Dione Payne, went to a Franklin home that morning to kill Payne.
But as Watson continued to kick Payne in the head over and over again, Assistant Prosecutor Teresa Hiett told jurors that Watson’s intent to simply hurt the boy changed.
“You cannot kick somebody that many times in the head and say, ‘I just wanted to give him a little warning,’” Hiett said in closing arguments Thursday.
Co-defendant and witness Michael Geldrich, 36, of Franklin, told the courtroom he and Watson were looking to rob Payne, their drug dealer, of heroin and cocaine. Geldrich had picked up the teen with Adam Patrick, 30, Franklin, on Nov. 30 and brought him back to Geldrich’s home at 11 Vernon Street in Franklin.
Geldrich enlisted the help of Watson, who was homeless and sleeping in a shed, to rob Payne. Geldrich first tried to knock out Payne by using a wooden table leg. Then the pair continued to kick and hit Payne, while demanding he reveal where he had stashed his drugs and money.
Geldrich told jurors this morning that the two kicked Payne in the head at least eight times; he was also hit and punched nearly 10 times. Geldrich, who is facing 22 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering Payne, testified that Watson used a rod to probe Payne’s anal cavity for drugs but turned up nothing. He maintained today that the pair didn’t intend to kill Payne.
Mongtomery County Coroner Susan Allen said Payne had been struck multiple times but his death was ultimately caused by the several blows the 16-year-old took to the head. The jurors were shown several photos of Payne’s swollen, bloodied and bruised face throughout her testimony.
But Watson’s attorney, John Kaspar, argued the two men would have never dropped Payne off at the hospital if they wanted him dead. He also told jurors that text messages sent between Watson, Geldrich and Patrick — which detailed the plans to rob Payne for drugs — did not discuss a plan to actually kill the teen.
“If the state has demonstrated to you that he’s possibly guilty, it’s not enough,” Kaspar said. “If the state has demonstrated to you that he’s probably guilty, it’s not enough.”
The jury — made up of seven men and five women — entered into deliberations at 5:15 p.m. over charges, which includes two counts of kidnapping, aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and rape, Watson faces.
About the Author