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Thread: Kristen Westfall Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 TX Murder of Nathan and Krystal Maddox

  1. #11
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    Church member testifies that she heard the gunshots that killed Zavalla couple

    By Caleb Beames
    Cleveland 19 News

    BRAZOS COUNTY, TX (KTRE) - During the opening statements at a capital murder trial in Bryan, state prosecutor Samantha Oglesby said that Kristen Westfall had unrelenting hate toward Nathan and Krystal Maddox.

    The statement came inside a Brazos County courtroom, two and a half hours west of where the trial was set to take place. Judge Delinda Gibbs-Walker granted state prosecutor Lisa Tanner’s request to have the Tyler County woman’s trial moved to a neutral site in order to have a fair jury.

    Westfall is one of three family members charged with capital murder in the killing of her ex-husband Nathan Maddox and his new wife Krystal in January of 2014 outside of a Tyler County church during a custody change.

    Westfall’s mother, Letha, and brother, Cameron, accepted plea deals in May. Westfall’s father Paul has not gone to trial yet.

    Cameron pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree tampering with evidence. The judge deferred finding of guilt contingent upon him testifying against his family. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each charge. Letha was given a life sentence with parole option after 30 years. Letha will also have to testify if asked. The families of Nathan and Krystal have requested the punishment be life in prison if found guilty and not the death penalty.

    In her opening statements, Samantha Oglesby, a prosecutor for the Texas Attorney General’s Office, told the jury that they would hear evidence that Kristen and her father Paul shot Nathan and Krystal outside the Mount Carmel Baptist Church as Nathan was going to visit his four-year old daughter.

    “We know custody issues can be messy but it did not have to come to this,” Oglesby said.

    Oglesby said the Westfall’s kept Nathan’s daughter isolated, and each time he tried to pick her up, he was met with resistance.

    “You will learn the Westfalls discouraged Nathan’s from having a relationship with him,” Oglesby said. “You will learn Nathan was trying to be a good father, but Kristen was not trying to be a good mother. The Westfalls saw the writing on the wall. Nathan was going to be able to get visitation with his child, and he was going to get the child out of isolation. They knew they were going to get custody of this child, and Kristen had to stop it.”

    Oglesby said Kristen plotted for months and that she told her family that she had friends that could kill Nathan. Oglesby claimed the Westfall family tried to pay Kristen’s friends and give them money. She stated in October 2013, Nathan and Paul got in an argument and a physical altercation.

    “It was in that time that words turned into action,” Oglesby said.

    Oglesby claimed that Kristen started to stalk Nathan and Krystal in an attempt to find a place to kill them. She said in December of 2013, a custody hearing was made where the judge ordered a visitation plan that both sides agreed on.

    “What you will learn is the Westfalls came up with that place,” Oglesby said. “They recommended their family church.”

    Oglesby said the day of the murder Cameron was asked to go to the store and he saw Kristen dressed as a boy and he knew the murder would happen that day.

    Oglesby said Paul was armed with a .3030-caliber rifle and Kristen with a shotgun, and they walked through the woods to the church.

    “You are going to hear that Paul Westfall shot Krystal in the head as she walked out,” Oglesby said. “You are going to learn that Nathan had to watch his wife die, and then Kristen shot Nathan in the hip by Kristen, and then Paul walked up and shot him in the head.”

    Oglesby said Kristen thought she planned the perfect murder.

    “What she didn’t expect was for her family not to keep her secret,” Oglesby. “What is better than fingerprints and DNA is her confession to her family. What is better than DNA or fingerprints is her understanding of where Nathan and Krystal would be.”

    In their opening statement the defense asked the jury to look at the evidence closely and really listen to the witnesses and think about what they had to gain. The defense argued that a different picture will be painted when they hear the evidence.

    Rhonda Humphus began the testimony phase of the trial. Humphus is Krystal Maddox’s mother. Humphus said that Krystal had four children of her own and knew that she and Nathan were trying to establish a relationship with Maddie, Nathan's daughter.

    “Krystal had repainted a room for [her daughter] and little Maddie and got two beds for them,” Humphus said. “She made a dream little girl’s room.”

    Humphus said Krystal was getting ready for when Nathan's daughter would get to stay with them.

    Humphus then described the relationship between Nathan and the Westfalls.

    “There was a short time when things went well,” Humphus said. “Then it went back to them trying to block visits and threats of violence.”

    Humphus said Krystal and Nathan at that time tried to hire an attorney to help them get visitation and hopefully custody of Nathan’s daughter. Humphus said the frustration Krystal showed soon turned to fear.

    “She would talk to me in code so only we knew what was going on,” Humphus said. “She would send her children in different directions whenever Kristen would come to Zavalla. She said they are going to kill us.”

    When prosecutor Lisa Tanner asked who she was talking about, Humphus said, “The Westfalls.”

    Humphus said eventually the two were able to hire Lufkin attorney Ryan Deaton. Humphus said they were given a step-up visitation that Nathan tried to enforce since the divorce.

    Humphus said Nathan also expressed fear.

    “He said they were evil, and they were going to kill him,” Humphus said.

    Humphus said when she learned the meeting place for Nathan’s daughter was going to be at the Mount Carmel Church that she was concerned and thought it should be at a public place like the justice center.

    “[Krystal] said, ‘It’s a church, mom,’” Humphus said. “What could happen?”

    Humphus said at the hearing to set the location of the visitation she saw Kristen on the phone laughing.

    “She said, ‘It’s over we got everything we asked for,’” Humphus said.

    Humphus said she learned Nathan and Krystal were killed while she was in Florida when she got a phone call from her sister.

    Kelly Haggard, Nathan Maddox’s mother then took the stand. Haggard said Nathan and Kristen met in his early 20s, and they were married for about nine years.

    Haggard said when Nathan got re-married to Krystal, he wanted more children.

    “He always said he wanted 10 children, and I would tell him that he obviously hadn’t had a teenager,” Haggard said. “Krystal and him tried to have a child, and then they both went to the doctor, and Nathan was told he could not have any more children.”

    Haggard said that when Nathan would come to family events while he was married to Kristen, he would come alone. Haggard said Kristen or his daughter would not come. Haggard said she would go over sometimes and arguments would happen, so she stopped going.

    “I did not want her to be in a single-parent home, and I told Nathan I did not want to be the cause of that,” Haggard said.

    Haggard said after Nathan divorced Kristen, Nathan did not get to see his daughter much.

    “They were always going out of town,” Haggard said. “Or Paul was in the hospital or it was always some excuse.”

    Haggard said when Nathan got re-married, she saw her son more and that he loved Krystal’s children like they were his own.

    “When it all first began, he just wanted visitation,” Haggard said. “He just wanted to see her. He just wanted to be in her life.”

    Haggard said, eventually, Nathan wanted to get custody.

    “Finally, when Kristen wanted another way of life other than motherhood, he wanted her,” Haggard said. “He always wanted her. He just didn’t want to take her from her mother.”

    Haggard said Nathan did express fear of the Westfalls.

    “He called me and talked to me,” Haggard said. “I thought it was just stress of all of this that was getting to him. I talked to him and told him to talk to someone professional. I never fathomed someone could do this.”

    Haggard said it was a Saturday, and she was at home when she heard what happened.

    “My mother called me and said she had been to church and passed Mount Carmel on the way home, and there were police out there at the church,” Haggard said.

    Haggard said she knew the church was where the visitation was and that she started crying.

    “I asked her what happened and she said, ‘I don’t know they won’t let anyone down the road,’ but I knew in my heart what happened,” Haggard said.

    Attorney Ryan Deaton then talked about representing Nathan and Krystal Maddox. Deaton works as a family lawyer in Lufkin.

    Deaton said Nathan and Krystal made payments to him for his retainer fee. Deaton said after he was paid, he filed a protective order.

    “He was doing well for himself,” Deaton said. “He had a job, his wife had a job he just couldn’t some up with the money. We let them pay it out and he did.”

    Deaton said filing protective orders is common in his practice. Deaton said on November 7, they filed an answer to the Westfalls wanting custody, a counter petition to custody. Deaton said they amended that filling to say that the Westfalls did not have standing to be in court.

    Deaton said the Westfalls only had Nathan’s daughter for two months when they had to have her for six months before they made a motion.

    Deaton said when he talks about “the Westfalls” it means Letha, Paul and Kristen.

    Deaton said another attorney was also brought in to represent Nathan’s daughter. Deaton said on the day of a hearing, all the sides went to an office in Woodville, and the sides all came to an agreement to visitation.

    Deaton said the team also filed a motion to enforce.

    “We alleged my client had been declined from meetings from January 2013 to December of 2013,” Deaton said.

    Deaton said, in his opinion, Maddie had been brainwashed and was afraid to go with Nathan.

    “Because he had not seen this child for so long he needed to build up a relationship,” Deaton said. “It doesn’t matter who is right or wrong; we want the child to feel comfortable around a person she has not seen for a year. These were temporary orders.

    The fight had just begun. We decided to do a step-up visitation plan and go for custody later on.”

    Deaton said the visitation would be increased and changed over a five-step plan with standard visitation taking place by April 2014.

    “We are operating on temporary orders, so our plan was to get through the summer and then get a contested hearing,” Deaton said.

    Deaton added there was no doubt the Nathan would get custody of his daughter.

    Deaton said on Jan.18, 2014, there was a visitation at the church scheduled that was overseen by the church leaders and that Paul and Letha Westfall were not allowed. Deaton said there were three more church visits left before standard visitation happened.

    “What I remember is at my office, we all have smartphones and apps connected to KTRE,” Deaton said. “If anything big happens, we all get flash updates. They all went, ‘ding, ding, ding,’ and yeah… it was horrible. You say hindsight … yeah, we could have done it somewhere else or done something else. … Who thinks something is going to happen at a church?”

    Jerry Adaway, the chairman of the deacons for Mount Carmel Baptist Church describes the church as being out in the woods. Adaway said the church usually has 30 to 40 members, and about 35 show up for services.

    Adaway said the Westfalls were members of the church.

    “They were good at first and would come on a regular basis, but then they stopped and came once or twice a month,” Adaway said.

    Adaway said Cameron was the only one in the family that was a regular member. Adaway said on Jan.18, 2014, he was the first one to arrive at church to cut the tall grass. He said he was there around 8 a.m.

    I started mowing, and I saw Paul Westfall running by,” Adaway said. “I didn’t think anything of it because he runs traps [for foxes and other small animals].

    He was in a small pickup. It was an older truck.

    Adaway said when Westfall stopped, he was the only one at the church.

    “Paul was upbeat and seemed fine,” Adaway said. “He was walking to my tractor, and he had a limp but he seemed fine.”

    Adaway said the next time Pau Wetsfall came by he stopped and talked to another church worker and then left back to his house.

    “That morning around 9, Letha Westfall and Maddie showed up to the church,” Adaway said. “Marie Winters showed up. … She was the moderator of the visitation.”

    Adaway said Nathand and Krystal then showed up but he did not remember the time. Adaway said they finished mowing the yard around 11 a.m.

    “When we finished brush hogging, we had new flags and were going to replace them on the flagpole,” Adaway said. “I went inside the church around 11 to get some water. They were in the sanctuary visiting. They never came out anymore while we were there.”

    Adaway said it was around 12:20 p.m. before he knew something had happened at the church.

    “I was devastated,” Adaway said. “It was sad. I went out late that evening. As chairman of the deacons, I went out to make sure everything was okay and then went to the sheriff’s office to make a statement to the Texas Ranger.”

    Adaway said the church canceled services that week. He said the next week, services were held and all of the Westfalls including Kristen, were in church. He said it was that way for a few weeks.

    Jerry Adaway, the chairman of the deacons for Mount Carmel Baptist Church describes the church as being out in the woods. Adaway said the church usually has 30 to 40 members, and about 35 show up for services.

    Adaway said the Westfalls were members of the church.

    “They were good at first and would come on a regular basis, but then they stopped and came once or twice a month,” Adaway said.

    Adaway said Cameron was the only one in the family that was a regular member. Adaway said on Jan.18, 2014, he was the first one to arrive at church to cut the tall grass. He said he was there around 8 a.m.

    I started mowing, and I saw Paul Westfall running by,” Adaway said. “I didn’t think anything of it because he runs traps [for foxes and other small animals]. He was in a small pickup. It was an older truck.

    Adaway said when Westfall stopped, he was the only one at the church.

    “Paul was upbeat and seemed fine,” Adaway said. “He was walking to my tractor, and he had a limp but he seemed fine.”

    Adaway said the next time Paul came by he stopped and talked to another church worker and then left back to his house.

    “That morning around 9, Letha Westfall and Maddie showed up to the church,” Adaway said. “Marie Winters showed up. … She was the moderator of the visitation.”

    Adaway said Nathan and Krystal then showed up but he did not remember the time. Adaway said they finished mowing the yard around 11 a.m.

    “When we finished brush hogging, we had new flags and were going to replace them on the flagpole,” Adaway. “I went inside the church around 11 to get some water. They were in the sanctuary visiting. They never came out anymore while we were there.”

    Adaway said it was around 12:20 p.m. before he knew something had happened at the church.

    “I was devastated,” Adaway said. “It was sad. I went out late that evening. As chairman of the deacons, I went out to make sure everything was okay and then went to the sheriff’s office to make a statement to the Texas Ranger.”

    Adaway said the church canceled services that week. He said the next week, services were held and all of the Westfalls including Kristen, were in church. He said it was that way for a few weeks.

    Lifelong Mount Carmel Baptist Church member Vera Marie Winters said she is familiar with all four members of the Westfall family. She said she was a church friend with the family and was asked to help out with custody visits in 2014.

    “They asked me to be a moderator, but I call it just sitting there,” Winters said. “I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I didn’t want to know what was going on. If someone at the church needed help, then I would help.”

    Winters said on the day of the alleged killings, Letha Westfall arrived at the church before she did. Winters said unlike other visits, Maddie was able to have a good visit with Nathan.

    “Nathan brought her a Diet Coke because she said she wanted a white Coke at the last visit,” Winters said. “I think she meant Sprite but Nathan thought diet Coke because of the white bottle. They were able to go on the floor and play with puzzles.”

    Winters said Letha Westfall was there on the phone, and she played with the baby some.

    “The visitation went over about 10 or 15 minutes,” Winters said. “They were having a good time and playing.”

    Winters said when visitation was over, Krystal and Nathan went outside and Nathan held the door as Krystal went down the steps. Winters said Letha did take longer to pick her things up.

    “I didn’t think about that because they brought more toys than usual,” Winters said.

    Winters said when Nathan and Krystal walked outside she started hearing gun shots. She said Letha and Maddie were in the front pew.

    “I yelled to get in the office, and I called 911,” Winters said. “I heard two or three gun shots, then I heard him squeal, then I heard two or three more.”

    Winters said the shots were fired quickly and she ran and locked the door. She admitted she did not see what happened but she did see Krystal on the ground. Winters said Letha was incoherent and she had to get on the phone and talk to the 911 operator.

    Oglesby then presented a disk with a 911 call on it to the jury. In the call you can hear a voice identified as Letha Westfall screaming for help. The operator asked if someone had been shot and she said she is not sure because of stained glass windows and that she was in the church office with a baby.

    A voice identified as Winters said she could see one person lying on the ground outside of the door. Winters said Letha Westfall wanted to go outside to check on the people, but she wouldn’t let her because she didn’t know where the shooter was.

    The 911 operator relayed to officers that Krystal was a confirmed victim but was not sure if Nathan was a victim or an actor. Winters quickly spoke up and said she believed Nathan was also a victim even though she could not see him. During the call you can hear Letha Westfall crying in the back ground.

    Later on in the call, Winters asked Letha Westfall to “calm down” as Letha Westfall could be heard screaming, "They just walked out the door!” Winters told the dispatcher that Letha Westfall was on the phone with her family telling them not to come up there.

    “We don’t know who is out there,” Letha Westfall said on the phone to her family. “Kristen, we have her inside, and we are locked inside.”

    Winters kept telling the dispatcher that Letha Westfall wants to go outside, but they couldn’t until police get there and say it is okay to. As the call continued, Winters continued to tell Letha Westfall no.

    “They’re looking all over for the shooter,” Winters told her.

    Winters told Oglesby that it took officers 15 to 20 minutes to arrive. Winters told her that Letha Westfall kept wanting to go outside because she thought she could help. Winters said Maddie was quiet and still “like a statue”.

    Winters said when Letha Westfall called her family she could hear Kristen on the phone and Cameron when he got on the phone later to tell him where to look for Paul’s medicine.

    Winters told Christine Brown-Zito, Kristen Westfall's defense attorney, that she didn’t say much to Letha Westfall at the beginning because she didn’t have time to. Winters said the whole family would sit in front of her at church, and she felt like she knew them pretty well. Winters said she did not know what kind of vehicle Paul Westfall drove, but she knew what he drove was pretty loud and you could hear it.

    “You have to understand. I was a little excited, and I wasn’t listening closely,” Winters said. “I was listening just enough to know if someone was trying to get inside.”

    http://www.cleveland19.com/story/327...zavalla-couple
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  2. #12
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    Tyler County capital murder suspect's brother testifies at her trial

    BRYAN, TEXAS (KTRE) - During the fourth day of testimony in the capital murder trial for a Tyler County woman who is accused in the shooting deaths of her ex-husband and his new wife, her brother told the jury that he didn’t tell anyone about the couple’s murders because he didn’t know what to do or where to turn.

    The trial is being held in Bryan instead of Tyler County, where the crime was committed. Judge Delinda Gibbs-Walker granted state prosecutor Lisa Tanner’s request to have the Tyler County woman’s trial moved to a neutral site in order to have a fair jury.

    Kristen Westfall is one of three family members charged with capital murder in the killing of her ex-husband Nathan Maddox and his new wife Krystal in January of 2014 outside of a Tyler County church after a mediated visitation with Nathan and Kristen’s young daughter.

    Kristen Westfall’s mother, Letha, and brother, Cameron, accepted plea deals in May. Westfall’s father, Paul, has not gone to trial yet.

    Cameron Westfall pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree tampering with evidence. The judge deferred finding of guilt contingent upon him testifying against his family. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each charge.

    Letha Westfall was given a life sentence with parole option after 30 years.

    Krystal Maddox have requested the punishment be life in prison if found guilty and not the death penalty.

    During Monday’s testimony, Hannah Ogden, Nathan Maddox’s sister took the stand first. She testified that she heard Kristen Westfall on the phone telling someone that they got everything they wanted. This was right after the hearing that set the visitation at the Mount Carmel Baptist church.

    Later Monday morning, Cameron Westfall, Kristen’s brother took the stand. He told the jury that he was 10 when his sister married Nathan Maddox, and that Nathan Maddox was like an older brother to him. He added that Nathan Maddox taught him how to fish.

    Cameron Westfall took the jury through all his family members’ plans to get someone else to kill Nathan and Krystal. He said when they wouldn’t do it, his dad and Kristen decided to do it themselves.

    During his testimony, Cameron Westfall said the reason that he didn’t tell anyone about it was that he was conflicted. He said he didn’t know what to do or where to turn.

    Letha Westfall, Kristen Westfall's mother, took the stand later Monday. Her testimony backed up the major points made by the prosecution. At the sane time, she appeared to be diminishing her own role in the murders.

    Letha Westfall didn't finish her tesimony, and she is set to return to the stand Tuesday.

    Cameron Westfall then apologized to the family members of Nathan and Krystal Maddox from the bottom of his heart.

    In her opening statements Wednesday, Samantha Oglesby, a prosecutor for the Texas Attorney General’s Office, told the jury that they would hear evidence that Kristen and her father Paul shot Nathan and Krystal outside the Mount Carmel Baptist Church as Nathan was going to visit his four-year old daughter.

    “We know custody issues can be messy but it did not have to come to this,” Oglesby said.

    On Wednesday, Oglesby said that the Westfalls tried to keep Nathan’s daughter isolated and discouraged her from having any kind of relationship with her father.

    “You will learn the Westfalls discouraged Nathan’s from having a relationship with him,” Oglesby said Wednesday. “You will learn Nathan was trying to be a good father, but Kristen was not trying to be a good mother. The Westfalls saw the writing on the wall. Nathan was going to be able to get visitation with his child, and he was going to get the child out of isolation. They knew they were going to get custody of this child, and Kristen had to stop it.”

    Oglesby said Kristen plotted for months and that she told her family that she had friends that could kill Nathan. Oglesby claimed the Westfall family tried to pay Kristen’s friends and give them money. She stated in October 2013, Nathan and Paul got in an argument and a physical altercation.

    “It was in that time that words turned into action,” Oglesby said.

    Oglesby claimed that Kristen started to stalk Nathan and Krystal in an attempt to find a place to kill them. She said in December of 2013, a custody hearing was made where the judge ordered a visitation plan that both sides agreed on.

    “What you will learn is the Westfalls came up with that place,” Oglesby said. “They recommended their family church.”

    Oglesby said the day of the murder Cameron was asked to go to the store and he saw Kristen dressed as a boy and he knew the murder would happen that day.

    Oglesby said Paul was armed with a .3030-caliber rifle and Kristen with a shotgun, and they walked through the woods to the church.

    “You are going to hear that Paul Westfall shot Krystal in the head as she walked out,” Oglesby said. “You are going to learn that Nathan had to watch his wife die, and then Kristen shot Nathan in the hip by Kristen, and then Paul walked up and shot him in the head.”

    Oglesby said Kristen thought she planned the perfect murder.

    “What she didn’t expect was for her family not to keep her secret,” Oglesby. “What is better than fingerprints and DNA is her confession to her family. What is better than DNA or fingerprints is her understanding of where Nathan and Krystal would be.”

    In their opening statement the defense asked the jury to look at the evidence closely and really listen to the witnesses and think about what they had to gain. The defense argued that a different picture will be painted when they hear the evidence.

    http://m.ktre.com/ktre/db_346247/con...tguid=QSwjuVbH
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  3. #13
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    Closing arguments given in Tyler Co. double-murder case

    By Caleb Beames
    Cleveland 19 News

    BRYAN, TX (KTRE) - The Kristen Westfall capital murder trial continued on Thursday with the cross examination of Westfall where she continued to say that her family “threw her under the bus."

    Westfall is accused of killing her ex-husband, Nathan Maddox, and his new wife, Krystal Maddox, on January 18, 2014 outside of a Tyler County church following a supervised visit between Nathan and his daughter who Kristen had custody of.

    Westfall’s mother, Letha, and brother, Cameron, accepted plea deals in May. Westfall’s father, Paul, has not gone to trial yet.

    Cameron Westfall pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree tampering with evidence. The judge deferred finding of guilt contingent upon him testifying against his family. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each charge.

    Letha Westfall was given a life sentence with parole option after 30 years.

    In her cross-examination answering, Westfall agreed with prosecutor Lisa Tanner that one of Paul and Letha Westfall’s children were with Paul Westfall when he shot and killed Westfall's ex-husband and his new wife. Kristen agreed with all of Tanner’s questioning about the crime but said she was in disagreement with the theory that she was with her father. Westfall claimed it was her brother Cameron that went with Paul to the church near their house on the day of the killings.

    Tanner told Westfall that she said yesterday that her brother was shielded from the world by her parents and that he did not like to hunt or trap animals with their father. Tanner told Westfall that that did not sound like someone who would do this.

    “No ma'am it does not,” Westfall said. “But none of this does.”

    Tanner then painted Westfall as a smart person. She brought up that Westfall graduated third in her class and got an associate’s degree in college. Tanner also brought up to Westfall that she has good knowledge of how to hunt.

    Tanner then brought up all of Cameron’s testimony and that when Westfall took the stand she said the same thing with the roles reversed.

    Westfall said she never told anyone her story until she got in court. Westfall told Tanner that Cameron was lying and he said what he was told to do before they got arrested.

    Westfall also told Tanner that Justin Reynolds, a witness that claimed the Westfalls tried to get him to kill the Maddox family, was also lying.

    Westfall also said witness Cody Shaver lied.

    “Cody would do or say anything to stay out of trouble,” Westfall said.

    Tanner pointed out that Westfall is aware that her mom and brother got deals, including Cameron being allowed to eat chicken strips one day if he testified, but her friends were not given deals.

    “I believe they were scared they were going to be charged,” Westfall said.

    Tanner then switched to Westfall's testimony about Letha Westfall. Westfall agreed with Tanner that her view was that her mother was lying and “sacrificing” one child for her son. Westfall believed that her mom was trying to protect her son and not get him in trouble.

    Tanner then brought up that Letha was the first person to implicate Cameron in the crime. Westfall then said on a letter they found that said, “Cameron, tell the truth” was code for “Cameron, don’t tell the truth”.

    Westfall said she was closer to her father then her mother but he was sacrificing his innocent daughter for his son. Kristen called her mom a puppet master and everyone conspired together to let her be the one in trouble.

    Tanner brought up duct tape that was recovered and claimed Westfall used the duct tape to conceal her body to make her look more like a boy when she and her father shot Nathan and Krystal. Tanner brought up that her brother told investigators two years before forensics came back that Westfall used the duct tape. Westfall denied that claim and said it was not possible.

    Tanner next brought up text messages between Kristen and Letha. Tanner showed several texts that looked like she was spying on Nathan and Krystal Maddox at times. Kristen denied the text and said she did not send them.

    “So your phone is conspiring against you?” Tanner asked.

    “No that is not what I am saying but there has to be something else happened,” Westfall said.

    Westfall said she told authorities that her phone had been lost and she was not using it because she had no minutes.

    Tanner said that was not true and showed evidence that Westfall was texting up to an hour before the shootings.

    Westfall also said that her daughter nor Cameron would not get in the car with her, but Tanner showed several texts that she sent to Cody Shaver stating her daughter and Cameron were with her.

    Westfall was shown a text message on her phone to Shaver that said what had happened and that the detectives had interviewed them and cleared them and that they might talk to her friends. Tanner pointed out that she believed Westfall sent that because she wanted to make sure her friends could not be found for police.

    Tanner then pointed out that Westfall had several pinger apps that could let her use random phone numbers on different phones. Tanner brought up that two different pinger accounts were opened within a month of the murders happening.

    Westfall then told Tanner that she had not surveyed Nathan or Krystal Maddox or never tried to have them killed. Westfall also agreed that she knew some people that were outlaws and criminals. Westfall agreed that she told investigators that Krystal Maddox might have got crossed with the wrong people and that she told authorities some other people who could have done it.

    “You called out Sgt. Mayshaw and you had a list that had all these different suspects,” Tanner said. “And your list was trashing Nathan.”

    “I wouldn’t say I was trashing, Nathan,” Westfall said. “I was telling the truth.”

    Tanner read part of the list that implicated the Texas syndicate in the murders.

    Tanner asked if she was trashing Nathan because she was trying to protect her family. Westfall said she was just saying things she was told.

    Westfall also said on the list that she heard Nathan had stolen a pound of weed from a black man, he jacked the Dixie Mafia and other names of people.

    “The bottom line is you gave them this big long lists to send them on a wild goose chase, correct?” Tanner asked.

    “Yes that is correct,” Westfall said.

    Westfall said no one was talking about anything the night before the murders.

    “Everyone was just quiet in the house,” Westfall said. “It was a different mood."

    Westfall said the morning of the murders, everything was normal.

    “Yes, everything was normal,” Westfall said. “I didn’t know my dad met with the Masons.”

    “Who are they?” Tanner said. “Are these some guys that travel and kill?”

    “I found out he met that morning with them,” Westfall said. “I later heard that they were spooked off by the mowers at the church.”

    Westfall then told her attorney the reason she told her story was because she learned that her mom and brother took plea deals and her dad had already confessed.

    Westfall said she knew her story was going to sound crazy and unbelievable.

    “I didn’t walk in here blindsided about anything,” Westfall said.

    Westfall told her attorney that the initial plan was for someone to say nothing but she knew what the plan was they discussed.

    “We really thought he would get probation for the tampering because he had never been in trouble,” Westfall said.

    Westfall said her dad knew what the story was but did not agree with it.

    “At first he didn’t like it and said he would just take the blame,” Westfall said.

    Westfall described her relationship with Nathan not as a good one and that she did miss them and that she did not plan any of this.

    The defense rested at 10:05 and the state does have rebuttal witnesses.

    Westfall’s trial is being held in Bryan instead of Tyler County, where the crime was committed. Judge Delinda Gibbs-Walker a request to have the Tyler County woman’s trial moved to a neutral site in order to have a fair jury.

    The families of Nathan and Krystal Maddox have requested the punishment be life in prison if found guilty and not the death penalty.

    After a quick recess the state recalled Bud Sturrock, a captain with the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office.

    Sturrock presented evidence including a black leather jacket and high heel shoes. Sturrock said all four Westfalls volunteered DNA to him.

    Westfall told him that on the day of the murders she was in the woods, Sturrock said. He agreed with the state that high heels and a leather jacket are not what someone would wear into the woods.

    Texas Ranger Robert Smith then talked about the evidence he collected off of the Pinger app.

    “It is an app you can put on your phone that can mask your phone number,” Smith said.

    Smith said they know that Westfall used two Pinger accounts and he found multiple times that her phone was related to her Pinger accounts.

    “It’s like she was texting herself both ways,” Smith said.

    Smith recalled that on March 17, 2014, Letha Westfall told authorities about Cameron’s role. Smith recalled that Letha Westfall was mad at her husband for putting her son in that position.

    The state rested with their rebuttal and the defense then once again put Westfall on the stand.

    Westfall said she always wore heels unless it was summer and then she would wear flip-flops.

    “If I was going trapping with my dad I would,” Westfall said. “The traps weren’t in the woods so sometimes we did not have to get out of the truck.”

    Kristen agreed that she chose to give the investigators the boots.

    In her closing arguments, co-prosecutor Samantha Ogelsby said the jury does not need DNA or fingerprints because they have heard over and over again of the unrelenting hatred for Nathan and Krystal.

    “You have evidence where over and over again you heard her say, ‘if you don’t do it, I will,'" Ogelsby said.

    Ogelsby said Westfall used her daughter as bait and just like the foxes that she hunted with her dad, she trapped Maddox and his wife.

    “Krystal did not know what hit her, but Nathan did and only he had was time to scream and try to block a shot,” Ogelsby said. “I cannot tell you why she hated Nathan so much and I cannot tell you why she wanted to kill him. What I can tell you is after the divorce, Nathan had a new wife, a house and a new life. She was living in the woods with her family and a meth addiction. All Nathan didn’t have was his daughter but he was going to get her.”

    Ogelsby said even though she tried to say she had nothing to do with it, she set it all up.

    “You heard testimony that she earlier said after picking the church that she was heard laughing and saying, ‘We won, we got everything we wanted,'" Ogelsby said.

    Ogelsby said the victims were scared of Westfall and had told their family about it.

    “We saw a message where she said, ‘We are going to draw them out,'" Ogelsby said.

    Ogelsby brought up Westfall's mother's testimony and how the jury heard about text messages that Letha Westfall sent that showed she was working with Westfall and knew what was going on.

    In dealing with Cameron Westfall, Ogelsby said the only thing he did wrong was being an obedient child of his parents.

    “You could convict her on his testimony alone,” Ogelsby said. “She wants you to believe that Cameron did these crimes.”

    Ogelsby said this crime was planned for months in advance and that Paul Westfall named Westfall as a second shooter.

    Ogelsby pointed out that through all these text messages, Letha Westfall sent a message out that said ,’Get in place.’ And that it was sent soon after the lawn crew left the church.

    “She wants you to believe that everyone else is coming in here and lying,” Ogelsby said. “She wants you to believe she had no intent to see Nathan and Krystal dead. You heard she became paranoid when she did drugs and that her paranoia became fantasy.”

    “Kristen Westfall had so much hate towards Nathan Maddox,” Ogelsby said. “So much that she convinced her family to carry out these murders. “

    “She knew Krystal would be a witness and that she would fight for Nathan’s daughter,” Ogelsby said. “Krystal died a martyr for a daughter she did not give birth to...Kristen plotted and scheme for months. She thought she planned the perfect murder. She thought she was going to get away with it.”

    Ogelsby said what Westfall did not take into account that her family would turn on her.

    “She thought she was smart enough to get away with it and now she thinks she is smart enough to come up on the stand and convince you 14 that one day her family one day woke up and decided to kill Nathan and his wife and blame her,” Ogelsby said.

    Defense attorney Christine Brown-Zito then addressed the jury.

    “Please take time to consider this,” Brown-Zito said. “You have Kristen’s life in your hands.”

    Brown-Zito then called the main part of the trial the Letha and Paul Westfall show.

    “Letha was attached to this child,” Brown-Zito said. “She was obsessed to this child. The whole family dynamic, it is just really sad.”

    Brown-Zito said Westfall had to deal with a lot but was able to be one of the top in her class and graduated.

    “But then she met Nathan,” Brown-Zito said. “They started smoking marijuana and then they had Maddison and she stopped. She was honest about it. She said she didn’t want to spend the money on it. So they got divorced.”

    Brown-Zito said when Westfall got divorced and moved back in with her parents, Letha started to be a control freak and tried to control everything. Brown-Zito told the jury this is when Westfall went down a wrong path but was okay with Maddison staying with Paul and Letha.

    Brown-Zito said it is hard to believe Cameron because he was held back by his mother and was not socialized.

    Brown-Zito said Letha and Paul Westfall had the motive more than anyone else in this case.

    “This is a very dysfunctional family,” Brown-Zito said.

    Brown-Zito said this situation is because Letha Westfall did not want Maddison to go anywhere where she wasn’t.

    “You saw her on the stand and she never once looked at her daughter,” Brown-Zito said. “She did that because she had to stick to the story because she knew Cameron hadn’t been sentenced yet and she needed to stick to the story.”

    Lisa Tanner got back up and said this is a very simple case. Tanner said it comes down to which Westfall child did it.

    “Do you believe [Kristen] for what she said for five or six hours yesterday or do you believe everything else,” Tanner said.

    Tanner told the jury to believe her is to believe that she has been set up as a sacrificial lamb for their crime.

    “If you believe all this is conspiring against her then fine let her go,” Tanner said. “Go, let her go and ride down the elevator with her and take her to Starbucks.”

    Tanner said Cameron should not be on trial because he has taken responsibility for what he did. Tanner said Westfall used the same story and descriptions that her brother did.

    “She adopted is story and just accepted it as her own,” Tanner said. “She is just trying to cut her losses.”

    Tanner said the state is not trying to say Letha Westfall is a good mom because she isn’t and she had a part in it.

    “It felt good to show her the texts and have her fess up,” Tanner said. “It felt good, but she was involved.”

    Tanner said Letha will spend the rest of her life in prison so she did not get a sweet deal to testify. Tanner did agree with Brown-Zito on Cameron Westfall when it comes to him not being a bad kid then just does what his parents told him to do.

    Tanner called Cameron Westfall a 20-year-old child and that he would never kill anyone or bear false witness to his sister.

    “Cameron was involved and did get rid of the guns, but that is all he did,” Tanner said. “He only got put into this after he did what his mother told him to do.”

    Tanner told the jury they need to pay close attention to the text that was five days before the murders that "They need to take care of 'N' by any means necessary" and that the day before there was a text that Tanner said showed the Westfalls were talking about Krystal being an issue.

    “Nathan and Krystal built a life together,” Tanner said. “It was a short life together thanks to her and Letha and Paul. They want their life to be with Maddie and it was cut short... I can’t think of what it was like for Nathan in those final moments. He was trapped like an animal that the Westfalls hunted. He had to be thinking, ‘I knew it’.”

    The case was presented to the jury at 2 p.m.

    http://www.ktre.com/story/32789428/w...-under-the-bus
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #14
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Kristen Westfall begins life sentence after jury convicts her of capital murder

    BRYAN — A jury in Bryan has found Kristen Westfall guilty of capital murder in the shooting deaths of her ex-husband and his wife outside a Colmesneil church in 2014. Westfall begins serving a life sentence without parole.

    According to KTRE, the jury deliberated about eight hours before returning with the verdict.

    The jury convicted Westfall of killing Nathan Maddox, her ex-husband, and Krystal Maddox, his wife. The shootings took place January 18, 2014 outside the church during a supervised visit involving Nathan Maddox and his daughter. Kristen Westfall had custody of the child.

    Her mother, father and brother are also implicated in the case.

    Westfall's mother, Letha, accepted a plea bargain in May. A judge sentenced her to life. She is eligible for parole after she serves 30 years.

    Her brother, Cameron, pleaded guilty to two counts of tampering with evidence. They are 3rd Degree Felonies. He could face up to 2-10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine for each count. The finding was deferred and linked to his testimony against his family. Westfall’s father, Paul, is awaiting trial.

    http://kfdm.com/news/local/kristen-w...capital-murder
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #15
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Cameron Westfall denied parole

    By Chris Edwards
    Tylercountybooster

    BRAZOS COUNTY – A man convicted for having a role in a brutal double homicide which occurred in 2014 near Colmesneil was denied parole.

    Cameron Paul Westfall, 22, was convicted and sentenced to 10 years on Oct. 4, 2016 for two charges of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. He is the youngest member of a family of four, all of whom were convicted for their respective roles in the ambush-style murders of Nathan and Krystal Maddox. The murders occurred outside of Mount Carmel Baptist Church.

    During the investigation of the murders, according to previous reports, Cameron Westfall hid a rifle, shotgun, ammunition and other items used in the crime. After the family was apprehended, he led investigators with the Tyler County Sheriff's Department to a pond where the goods were hidden.

    His sister Kristen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Cameron Westfall was required to testify against her as one of the conditions of pleading guilty to two counts of tampering with evidence, both third-degree felonies.

    Letha Westfall, his mother, pleaded guilty to a capital murder charge and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Westfall patriarch Paul was the last one to be sentenced and accepted a plea bargain of life in prison in May 2017.

    Cameron Westfall is currently serving his sentence at the Gist Unit in Beaumont. His parole decision came on Thursday, July 12. The reasons, according to his record accessed through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, indicate a variety of factors ranging from "The record indicates that the offender's release would endanger the public" to "...a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others."

    His next possible parole review date is scheduled for July 2019 and his projected release date, according to TDCJ, is March 11, 2024.

    According to a story published in the March 8, 2018 edition of the Booster, The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended that Cameron serve the entirety of his sentence.

    http://www.tylercountybooster.com/in...-denied-parole
    In the Shadow of Your Wings
    1 A Prayer of David. Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

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