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Former Hammond cop takes the stand, tearfully denies role in ex's shooting death
Post Tribune
January 25, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/crime/ct-ptb-campbell-testifies-murder-trial-st-0126-20180125-story.html
A sometimes tearful Kevin Campbell told a jury Thursday he was cooperative with Portage police when he was questioned in the hours after his ex-girlfriend's murder, but that had changed when he found out police had removed his oldest son from classes at Willowcreek Middle School in Portage.
"I wanted to be cooperative and give them what they needed so I could get to my children, because they were my No. 1 priority," said Campbell.
Campbell, 33, of Hobart, is charged with murder in the Nov. 18, 2015, death of Tiara Thomas, with whom he shared three children.
"They were still in school," he said, choking back sobs, "I didn't want them to hear what happened from anybody else."
Police told Campbell, a former Hammond police officer, his children were still in school, he said, but he became "furious" when he found out his son had been removed from class.
Under cross-examination from Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost, Campbell said being told something by a police officer means nothing to him because he's been lied to by the police before.
"In fact, you were angry (your son) was with police because you were afraid of what he might be telling them," Frost said.
"Absolutely not," Campbell said.
Under questioning from Susan Severtson, one of his defense attorneys, Campbell denied involvement in Thomas' death.
"Did you have anything to do with the death of Tiara Thomas?" Severtson asked.
"No, ma'am, I did not," Campbell said.
Campbell is the defense's last witness in the third week of the trial at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso. Attorneys are expected to present closing arguments next week.
Campbell is accused of fatally shooting Thomas in the apartment she shared with her fiance in the Park Place apartment complex. Dressed in a black suit, Campbell took breaks to wipe away tears as he answered questions from attorneys.
Campbell and Thomas dated for 14 years, he said, and were high school sweethearts after meeting in middle school.
Campbell said he learned Thomas had been shot after receiving a call from her mother, Lisa Mays. Campbell said he went to Methodist Hospitals Northlake in Gary, where Thomas was taken. When he arrived, his dad was there "shaking his head and crying," Campbell said.
"I knew it was official. She was gone," Campbell said.
He wanted to see Thomas' body, he said, but he was unable to do so.
"It wasn't enough to hear it from somebody, I guess," Campbell said.
Under questioning from Severtson, Campbell said he took his children, who stayed with him at his Hobart home the night before Thomas was killed, to a park in Lake Station to throw out a grocery bag of "snot tissues" from his youngest child on their way to school in Portage.
Campbell said he put the bag in the garbage at the park.
"Did you throw out anything else?" Severtson asked.
"No," Campbell responded.
During cross-examination, Frost said Campbell twice told police he did not make any stops between his home and Willowcreek Middle School.
"That is two lies then, correct?" Frost said.
Campbell said he "simply forgot" about the stop at the park. His response to police, he said, was because of "my state of mind an hour after I found out someone I loved dearly was killed."
Campbell's finances have come up repeatedly during the trial.
Campbell had received voicemails from creditors, and his bank account balance was $7.58, according to court records.
He said in court that money was tight because he had paid for his wedding to Alicia Campbell on July 4, 2015. He admitted he was behind on some bills for car and house payments, but paying child support was not a hardship.
"As everyone else testified to, I did work a lot," Campbell said.
Under questioning from Frost, Campbell said he didn't agree with money he paid for child support going toward other expenses. In a text exchange between Campbell and Thomas about two weeks before the murder, shared by Frost in court, Campbell decried the money going for clothing for Thomas' fiance, Marqtell Robinson.
"It was my desire that my child support payments go to the benefit of my children," Campbell said.
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