07202016 - News Article - No bail for former cop accused in Portage slaying

Also See:

11182015 - Tiara Thomas OIDV Murder, Portage Indiana - Gary/Hammond Indiana Police Officer Kevin Campbell Charged With Murder

No bail for former cop accused in Portage slaying

Post-Tribune (IN)

July 20, 2016

www.newsbank.com

There will be no bail set for a former Hammond police officer accused of murdering the mother of his three children Nov. 8 in Portage.

On Monday, Porter Superior Judge Roger Bradford denied the bond request for Kevin Alexander Campbell, 32, of the 6100 block of Wisconsin Street in Hobart, despite this being the first case in Porter County to address bond for murder under 2013 Indiana Supreme Court decisions.

Bradford said that until minutes before the hearing began, he hadn't known that 2013 court decisions changed legislation that denies bail bonds for murder suspects and now puts the burden of proof in bond hearings on the prosecution.

However, in keeping with the new provisions, "I'm not going so far as saying the proof is evident, but it seems the presumption is strong," he said.

Lisa Mays, the mother of the deceased Tiara Thomas, said "thank God" and began crying loudly when Bradford announced his decision.

She was comforted for the rest of the hearing by family members who also supported her on the way out of court.

Defense attorney Susan Severtson had argued the prosecution had no solid forensic evidence, such as fingerprints, blood or DNA, that Campbell was at the scene of the murder, Thomas' apartment on Old Porter Road. Evidence presented Monday was "based on hearsay," Severtson said.

Portage Detective Lt. Dennis Meyers testified that Campbell had the three kids on a school night, which was a rarity, and that Campbell had turned the GPS off on his cellphone early in the morning, long before Thomas was found by her fiance about 7 a.m.

Meyers also testified that Campbell was in financial trouble and paid $1,495 a month in child support and that police drove one of the children around Lake Station to identify a park that Campbell allegedly stopped at while driving them to school.

The child said it was to throw away a brown bag that included shoes, Meyers said.

Severtson objected to the police working with the child without parental permission, but Bradford allowed it because, as Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost said, the child wasn't a suspect.

07182016 - News Article - No bond for former cop in Portage murder case

Also See:

11182015 - Tiara Thomas OIDV Murder, Portage Indiana - Gary/Hammond Indiana Police Officer Kevin Campbell Charged With Murder

No bond for former cop in Portage murder case
NWI Times
Jul 18, 2016
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/crime-and-court/no-bond-for-former-cop-in-portage-murder-case/article_10c11b42-0432-534c-8706-be5f48312fb8.html

VALPARAISO — A judge agreed with the defense Monday there may not be a lot of physical evidence linking former Hammond and Gary police officer Kevin Campbell to the slaying of his children’s mother.

But the presumption of his guilt is strong based on circumstantial evidence and that is enough to justify continuing to hold Campbell without bond while his case proceeds, said Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.

“Thank you, Jesus,” someone said aloud in the courtroom after Bradford announced his decision.

The decision came after about an hour of testimony from Portage police Detective Lt. Dennis Meyers, who summarized the prosecutor’s case against 32-year-old Campbell.

Campbell is charged with killling Tiara Thomas, 30, who was found covered in blood about 7:30 a.m. Nov. 18 in her unit at Park Place Apartments, 5970 Old Porter Road in Portage. She died later at the hospital.

Court documents point to arguments over child support and other money-related matters as a motive.

Defense attorney Susan Severtson asked for a bond Monday, arguing the case against her client is weak and his incarceration is hindering preparation for trial.

“It doesn’t show the court the evidence is strong,” she said of the detective’s testimony.

During questioning from Severtson, Meyers testified there were no fingerprints or other bodily evidence from Campbell found at the crime scene.

None of Campbell’s weapons were linked to the shooting, he said, and none of Thomas’ neighbors saw Campbell at the apartment at the time of the shooting.

Severtson downplayed evidence from Campbell’s son that his father threw a bag away at Columbus Park in Lake Station. The bag was never found, Severtson said, and neither was a key to Thomas’ apartment that Campbell’s 11-year-old son reportedly said his father asked him to bring along ahead of the shooting.

What police did discover is that while Campbell claimed to have been at home in Hobart at the time of the shooting, records show his cellphone active in Portage, Meyers said.

His home security system also recorded his front door opening and closing before the suspected time of the shooting and then again following the shooting, Meyers said.

Meyers said witnesses also said it was unusual that Campbell, rather than their mother, had the children on the day of her shooting, which was a school night.

Campbell also told police he had the same clothes on the entire day of the shooting, but his son disagreed, Meyers said.

Bradford scheduled the next hearing in the case for Sept. 26.

07182016 - News Article - No bail for ex-cop accused in Portage slaying

Also See:

11182015 - Tiara Thomas OIDV Murder, Portage Indiana - Gary/Hammond Indiana Police Officer Kevin Campbell Charged With Murder

No bail for ex-cop accused in Portage slaying

Post-Tribune

July 18, 2016 - 6:01PM

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-campbell-bail-st-0720-20160718-story.html

There will be no bail set for a former Hammond police officer accused of murdering the mother of his three children in Portage on Nov. 18.

On Monday, Porter Superior Judge Roger Bradford denied the bond request for Kevin Alexander Campbell, 32, of the 6100 block of Wisconsin Street in Hobart, despite this being the first case in Porter County to address bond for murder under 2013 Indiana Supreme Court decisions.

Bradford said that until minutes before the hearing began, he hadn't known that 2013 Court decisions changed legislation that denies bail bond for murder suspects and now puts the burden of proof in bond hearings on the prosecution.

However, in keeping with the new provisions, "I'm not going so far as saying the proof is evident, but it seems the presumption is strong," he said.

Lisa Mays, the mother of the deceased Tiara Thomas, said "thank God" and began crying loudly when Bradford announced his decision.

She was comforted for the rest of the hearing by family members who also supported her on the way out of court.

Defense attorney Susan Severtson had argued the prosecution had no solid forensic evidence, such as fingerprints, blood or DNA, that Campbell was at the scene of the murder, Thomas' apartment on Old Porter Road.

Evidence presented Monday was "based on hearsay," Severtson said.

Portage Detective Lt. Dennis Meyers testified that Campbell had the three kids on a school night, which was a rarity, and that Campbell had turned the GPS off on his cellphone early in the morning, long before Thomas was found by her fiancé about 7 a.m.

Meyers also testified that Campbell was in financial trouble and paid $1,495 a month in child support and that police drove one of the children around Lake Station to identify a park that Campbell allegedly stopped at while driving them to school.

The child said it was to throw away a brown bag that included shoes, Meyers said.

Severtson objected to the police working with the child without parental permission, but Bradford allowed it because, as Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost said, the child wasn't a suspect.