9th juror chosen in Isom death penalty case
Post-Tribune staff report December 4, 2012 8:42PM
Kevin Isom. | Provided Photo~Sun-Times Media
Updated: January 6, 2013 9:53AM
The ninth juror was chosen Tuesday in the capital murder trial of a Gary man charged with killing his wife and two stepchildren.
Three more regular jurors and four alternates will be chosen to hear evidence starting Jan. 7 in the death penalty case of Kevin Charles Isom, 46, who is accused of killing his wife, Cassandra Isom, 40, and her two children, Michael Moore, 16, and Ci’Andria Cole, 13. The homicides occurred in August 2007 at the family’s apartment in the Miller section. Four attempted murder charges also were filed involving four Gary police officers who were called to the complex when gunfire erupted.
If jurors convict Isom of three counts of murder in the first phase of the trial, a second phase of the trial ensues in which deputy prosecutors David Urbanski and Michelle Jatikiewicz must prove an aggravating circumstance. Defense attorneys Herbert Shaps and Casey McCloskey will present evidence of mitigating factors, including Isom’s childhood and upbringing, character, education and mental state. Jurors will be instructed to weigh the factors and decide whether Isom should be sentenced to death, life without parole or a term of years. The decision is binding on Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr., who retains discretion over the length of the sentence if jurors decide on a term of years. Murder is punishable by 45 to 65 years.
