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  1. #1
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    Patrick Wharen Sr Sentenced to Life in 2008 FL Slayings



    Opening statements have begun this morning in the murder trial of Patrick Wharen Sr., who is accused in a 2008 double homicide in Frontenac.

    The Brevard/Seminole State Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in connection with the April 4, 2008, slayings of the defendant's estranged wife Kelly Wharen, 34, and Jonathon Vuick, 19.

    Prosecution to seek death in 2008 murder case

    Jury selection was completed today for the murder trial of Patrick Wharen Sr., who is accused of killing his estranged wife and her male friend in April 2008 in Frontenac.

    Prosecution opening statements in the capital murder trial are expected to begin Friday morning before circuit court Judge Jack Griesbaum in Titusville.

    The Brevard/Seminole State Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in connection with the April 4, 2008, slayings of Kelly Wharen, 34, and Jonathon Vuick, 19.

    Patrick Wharen Sr. also is charged with one count of attempted manslaughter for a bullet that struck his 17-year-old son, Patrick Wharen Jr.

    http://www.floridatoday.com/article/...e-murder-trial

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    Opening statements begin in Sharpes murder trial

    A Brevard County man is facing the death penalty for killing his estranged wife and the 19-year-old she was having an affair with.

    Patrick Wharen Sr.'s attorney admits that his client fired the shots that killed the pair in April 2008, but he told a jury Friday that the killing was in the heat of passion.

    Wharen turned down a last-minute plea deal Friday morning. In an attempt to keep his children from having to testify, prosecutors offered to take the death penalty off the table and let the judge decide a punishment between 25 years and life in prison.

    Wharen said no to the plea deal, and the trial got under way.

    Wharen sobbed as his attorney told a jury he wasn't thinking clearly when he killed his estranged wife, Kelly, and her roommate, Jonathon Vuick.

    His attorneys laid out the details leading up to the 2008 shooting in Sharpes.

    Wharen's attorneys told jurors that Kelly had conjured up a nonexistent 19-year-old daughter named Missy, born before the Wharens' marriage, in order to explain Vuick moving into a second trailer the family owned across the street. Vuick was supposed to be the mystery daughter's fiance, and Kelly moved in with him.

    "He's questioning not only the existence of this 'Missy,' but he's questioning the fidelity of his wife," defense attorney Mark Lanning said.

    Weeks before the killing, Wharen's attorneys said, Vuick admitted to sleeping with Kelly.

    His defense team said Wharen snapped. His son, P.J. Oakley, was shot trying to stop him.

    "I think it was just a matter of a couple of seconds of me throwing him on the hood of the car, and the gun went off," Oakley said.

    But prosecutors say the murder was premeditated. Prosecutors will play the 911 tape of Vuick as he was standing behind the door calling for help.

    They said you could hear the gunshots that went through the door and killed him.

    http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/...r-trial/nHZfN/

  3. #3
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    Double-murder trial continues in Brevard County

    A Brevard County man is on trial and facing the death penalty, accused of killing his estranged wife and the 19-year-old man she was having an affair with.

    Patrick Wharen Sr. is accused of killing the two in 2008. His murder trial resumed Monday morning in Titusville.

    The jury has heard two 911 calls. The first call they heard came from Patrick Wharen's son, PJ, after he was shot in the struggle outside the home.

    The second call came from another victim, Jonathan Vuick, inside the home.

    Prosecutors say Wharen was upset with his wife moving in with Vuick, who she claimed was the fiancé of a daughter given up for adoption nearly 20 years earlier.

    There is no dispute Patrick Wharen was the shooter. The questions are: What was his state of mind, and did he kill his wife and her roommate in the heat of passion, as his defense attorneys claim?

    Wharen did not show any emotion as the second 911 call was played.

    Wharen's defense attorneys say he snapped on April 4, 2008 and went on a shooting rampage. Gunfire can be heard in the background of the 911 call. Vuick was standing inside the door and was shot multiple times through it.

    “He's trying to break into my house. He's trying to break into my house,” a caller says during the 911 call.

    Then the sound of a gunshot can be heard.

    According to prosecutors, the call made to 911 came from a phone found in Vuick's hand.

    Prosecutors say that after Wharen killed Vuick, he went into the house and shot his wife, Kelly. She was found with three gunshot wounds.

    Late Monday morning, a neighbor took the stand and said Wharen had been drinking with them before the shooting, and that they heard him threaten to kill his wife and the 19-year-old she lived with on multiple occasions.

    http://www.wftv.com/news/news/double...-county/nHbqw/

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    Jurors hear chilling 911 call as victim is fatally shot

    Patrick Wharen Sr. is accused of killing his estranged wife, Kelly, and the 19-year-old with whom she had moved in with. The defense claims Wharen snapped in April 2008 when he gunned them down.

    Wharen Sr. is on trial for the murders of his wife and Jonathon Vuick, who Kelly had moved in with.

    In court Monday, jurors heard the 911 call and also saw pictures of the victims inside the mobile home where their bodies were found.

    While some in the courtroom would not look at the photos, Wharen did not shift his eyes and looked right at the pictures without flinching.

    The following is an excerpt from the 911 call played in the courtroom.

    "I've been shot. Help me," P.J. Wharen Jr. told the 911 operator.

    "What happened?" the operator replied.

    “I've been shot, just help me. Come here and help me," said Wharen.

    The first call jurors heard came from Patrick Wharen's son, 16-year-old P.J., who was shot in a struggle trying to stop his father.

    Vuick called 911, too, as he stood behind the front door.

    "Who is shooting?" asked the operator.

    "Uh, Patrick Wharen,” said Vuick.

    "Acorn Drive in Titusville?" asked the operator.

    "Yes," said Vuick.

    "OK, where at? Where at on Acorn Drive?" asked the operator.

    "He's trying to break into my house! He's going to break into my house!" said Vuick.

    Then a series of gunshots are heard.

    "Where at?" asked the operator, again.

    "Three…” answered Vuick, as the call began to break up.

    "Ma'am, you’re breaking up," said the operator as the call was disconnected.

    Jurors then got to see seven bullet holes in the door. Vuick was hit multiple times.

    The jury also got to see peculiar pictures of rooms filled with baby supplies. Vuick supposedly moved into the Wharen's second trailer because he was supposed to be engaged to Kelly Wharen's daughter, Missy, a mystery daughter given up for adoption 20 years earlier and just reunited with her mother as the daughter was about to have twins.

    Attorneys for Wharen Sr. said it was all a fabrication to hide the affair that led Wharen to snap.

    The mystery daughter was mentioned in obituaries, but never showed up at any funerals. She did have a Facebook page with pictures on it and agents tried to figure out who she might be after the killings, but they came up empty-handed.

    http://www.wftv.com/news/news/jurors...ly-shot/nHb42/

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    Jury to hear closing arguments in double-homicide trial today

    Closing arguments in a double-homicide trial of a man accused of killing his estranged wife and another man began this morning.

    Patrick Wharen Sr., 41, is accused of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder and another charge of attempted manslaughter. His trial began nearly one week ago.

    Wharen is accused in the April 4, 2008 slayings of Kelly Wharen, 34, and Jonathon Vuick, 19. Prosecutors said the fatal shootings occurred during a confrontation between Kelly Wharen and her daughter.

    According to state attorneys, Wharen Sr. shot his estranged wife once on the porch, then fired a 45-caliber pistol seven times through the front door of the home, hitting Vuick. Patrick Wharen, Jr., who was 17, struggled to get the gun away from his father but the gun fired, striking and injuring both men.

    Kelly Wharen was living in the trailer owned by the Wharens that she shared with Vuick. She had claimed Vuick was the finace of a daughter she gave up for adoption with whom she had recently reuinted in VIrginia.

    Defense attorneys said Wharen Sr. was having conflicts with his wife leading up to the shooting and was receiving therapy and taking medication before returning to work from medical leave. Attorneys said Wharen Sr. wasn't thinking clearly but don't dispute that he shot his wife and Vuick.

    After closing arguments a 12-member jury is expected to deliberate until a verdict. If Wharen Sr. is found guilty, a second phase of trial will be held to determine his sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the double-homicide.

    http://www.floridatoday.com/article/...t|Local%20News

  6. #6
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    Patrick Wharen Sr. found guilty of two counts of murder

    A 12-person jury has found Patrick Wharen Sr. guity of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in the slayings of his estranged wife and another man.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. A next court date, to determine if Wharen, 41, will face death, was not immediately set.

    Jurors took more than four hours to reach the verdict, during which time they relistened to two 911 calls made the night of the double-homicide.

    The calls were from Wharen's son, who was wounded by a gunshot, and Jonathon Vuick, 19, who was killed. Wharen Sr. is accused of killing his estranged wife Kelly Wharen and Vuick, with whom she lived.

    Jurors began deliberating the case early this afternoon after nearly a week of trial and closing arguments, which happened this morning. About 2:20 p.m. they returned to the courtroom to listen to the 911 tapes. Wharen's son, who was shot while trying to stop his father, places one of the calls saying "I'm shot, help me." The other brief call is by Vuick but disconnects.

    Neither the defense nor prosecutors disputes that Wharen shot and killed Kelly Wharen, 34, and Vuick in April 2008. They dispute whether Wharen Sr. premeditated the killings.

    Defense attorneys had asked the jury to consider less severe charges, saying their client acted in the heat of passion.

    They said Wharen Sr. was “living in hell” for months after separating from his wife and didn’t react previously after a series of confrontations with her. He was pushed over the edge when one of his children came to him crying after a fight with Kelly Wharen, they said.

    They also said the night of the shootings, Wharen Sr. went to get his wife back.

    Assistant State Attorney Greg Konieczka argued that Wharen Sr. went to the home intending to kill his wife and Vuick. He first shot Kelly Wharen, who ran back into the home, then was confronted by his son, Patrick Wharen Jr., age 15 at the time, who tried to take the gun.

    The 45-caliber handgun fired once in the father-and-son confrontation, wounding both of them.

    Prosecutors said Wharen Sr. then continued to the home and fired seven shots through the front door, hitting Vuick. He went into the home and shot his wife again several times, according to prosecutors.

    “Is that an accident?" Konieczka asked the jury. “It's deliberate and it’s conscious.”

    Wharen Sr. is being held in Brevard County jail but appeared in court for trial wearing a suit.

    A penalty phase of trial, which will determine if Wharen Sr. faces a death sentence, is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Monday. The same jurors who found him guilty will determine his sentence.

    http://www.floridatoday.com/article/...-counts-murder

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    Jury expected to decide Brevard killer's fate this afternoon

    Prosecutors expect a jury will begin weighing double-murderer Patrick Wharen Sr.’s sentence -- life in prison or the death penalty -- this afternoon.

    A second phase of trial, in which jurors will determine the sentence, began Monday. The proceeding resumed this morning with additional witnesses for the defense, which is asking jurors to choose a life sentence.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the Frontenac man.

    http://www.floridatoday.com/article/...fate-afternoon

  8. #8
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    Jurors have recommended that Patrick Wharen Sr. face a sentence of life imprisonment for killing his estranged wife and a man with whom she lived in 2008.


    http://www.floridatoday.com/article/...sonment-Wharen

  9. #9
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    A Brevard County circuit judge sentenced Patrick Wharen Sr. to two consecutive life terms in prison Thursday for killing his estranged wife and the man with whom she lived.

    Wharen, 41, fatally shot Kelly Wharen, 34, and Jonathon Vuick, 19, on April 4, 2008, in Frontenac.

    Kelly Wharen’s mother, Jane Renner, said her daughter was misrepresented during trial and described her as a loving and devoted person.

    “He didn’t just kill his wife, my daughter,” Renner said. “He killed a niece, an aunt, a cousin, a friend, a confidant. There were so many people wrapped up in that one individual. … Marriages end, people move on. For violence to be a part of it is not the answer.

    “I’m not a vengeful person. I’ve never wanted the penalty any more than what it is. I think that justice has been served.”

    Several jurors who found Patrick Wharen guilty of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder last week attended the sentencing hearing. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty, but jurors recommended Judge Jack Griesbaum impose a life sentence.

    “This was a needless and senseless killing,” Griesbaum said, adding that he had no doubt Wharen went to the home to kill his wife.

    Wharen went to the 300 block of Akorn Street and shot his wife once before firing seven rounds through the front door, killing Vuick. His son, Patrick Wharen Jr., 15 at the time, tried to stop him, but the gun fired, wounding both father and son. Wharen Sr. then went into the home and killed his wife.

    During sentencing, Terri Goodwin, victim counselor for the State Attorney’s Office, read a statement on behalf of Kelly Wharen’s aunt and the Wharens’ three children, as well as a letter from Vuick’s parents, Mike and Mindy Vuick of Alabama.

    “Losing our firstborn son (Jonathon) has shattered our lives, to say the least,” Goodwin read on behalf of the Vuicks.

    Patrick Wharen spoke during the sentencing, much of which was inaudible.

    Wharen apparently suspected his estranged wife was having an affair with Vuick. Kelly Wharen claimed Vuick was the fiance of a daughter she’d given up for adoption. Mike and Mindy Vuick’s letter said the relationship was nothing more than that.

    Assistant Public Defender George McCarthy said Wharen was frustrated with the letters and statements made in court. When asked if his client was remorseful, McCarthy answered: “There’s nothing to say.”
    http://www.floridatoday.com/article/...ouble-homicide

  10. #10
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    If anyone is interested truTV is rerunning this trial on In Session. The show airs Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. eastern time.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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