Thornton trial underway

The jury trial for Bronson resident Fred Thornton began Tuesday at the Bourbon County Courthouse.

Thornton was arrested for his alleged involvement in an incident on Sept. 15, 2008, in which Carol Keele was nearly beaten to death in her home with an axe. Thornton was charged with attempted murder in the first degree or in the alternative attempted murder in the second degree, aggravated assault, violation of a court order, and criminal trespass.

"In September 2008, Carol Keele lived in fear," Bourbon County Attorney Terri Johnson said in her opening statements.

Johnson said Keele and Thornton, along with his daughter Laura Thornton, lived together at 403 Wright St. in Bronson. Keele asked the Thorntons to move out and they refused, Johnson said. As a result, Keele went to the courthouse on Sept. 15, 2008 to file a protection from abuse order which would require the Thorntons to leave. Fred Thornton was seen driving past the Bourbon County Courthouse multiple times while Keele was inside, Johnson added.

Later that evening, Bourbon County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Feagins served the protection from abuse order papers to Thornton and told him he was not to return to the residence. Feagins later returned to the residence to inform Keele the paperwork had been served. While Feagins was there, Thornton arrived at the residence in which Feagins again told him he was not allowed to return under any circumstances, according to Johnson's statements.

Fort Scott Police Department dispatchers received a call at 9:50 p.m. in which a screaming woman called from a cell phone which was traced to a tower near Bronson, according to Johnson's statements. Johnson went on to say a call was received two minutes later from a male subject who said, "You've got a dead (expletive deleted) out here."

Dispatchers sent Feagins to the residence in Bronson believing the cell phone call may have come from that area. Minutes later the same male caller called again saying, "You've got a dead (expletive deleted) out here. Come get it out of my house."

Feagins and Bourbon County Deputy Jimmy Nichols responded and arrived at the residence to find Keele badly beaten but still alive, according to Johnson. She continued saying Feagins and Nichols went to search for Thornton and that Thornton flagged them down yelling, "I'm the one you're looking for." Thornton was then taken into custody.

Johnson said in her statements that witnesses will testify that Thornton had been drinking, however he was not intoxicated and that he was aware of what he was doing.

Harry Warren, Thornton's attorney, chose to reserve his opening statements for a later time.

Laura Thornton was arrested on Oct. 21, 2008, for her involvement in the assault. She pleaded no contest to aiding and abetting aggravated battery, a severity level five person felony, after the original counts of aiding and abetting attempted murder in the first degree, aiding and abetting aggravated battery, and domestic battery were amended to the single charge of aiding and abetting aggravated battery. She received a 36-month probation sentence for the crime rather than the original 32-month jail sentence, which was suspended.

Fred Thornton is currently in custody at the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center in lieu of a $500,000 bond.