Mardi Gras murder verdict: guilty

After deliberating less than a day, a King County Superior Court found a 17-year-old who went on a Mardi Gras rampage guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of assault.

As Judge Anthony Wartnik's clerk read the verdict yesterday that will send Jerell Thomas to prison, murder victim Kristopher Kime's family held each other and cried.

"It's the end of the chapter for us," Kime's father, Ken, said afterward. He said he feels sad for Thomas' family "but I think the right thing was done."

Thomas faces a maximum of 22 years in prison. No sentencing date was set.

His murder trial became symbolic of the melee that engulfed Seattle's Pioneer Square Feb. 27 and 28. Television videotape of the event showed the mayhem, and prominent in the footage was Thomas, who prosecutors said had been on a mission to harm that left Kime dead and two others injured.

Defense attorneys hoped the videotape — which also showed others fighting — would raise the possibility that someone else caused Kime's fatal injury. But prosecutors hammered at what was shown on the tape: Thomas striking Kime more than once in the head and then Kime falling to the ground.

The defense didn't dispute that Thomas hit Kime, but insisted the blows were not hard enough to kill him. They said Thomas' actions were wrong, but also were the kind of thing a 17-year-old might do without realizing the consequences.

The jury disagreed.

Prosecutors Andrea Vitalich and Cindi Port were surprised at how quickly the jury returned. As the verdict was read, Thomas was stoic. Like his family, he had never glanced at jurors during the trial.

Defense lawyer Jeff Kradel said he expected the verdict would be appealed. Jurors left without comment.

According to Vitalich, Thomas' Mardi Gras rampage began when he struck an unidentified man and then stole a skateboard. Afterward, he struck Jesse Wilson in the head, beating him until a Good Samaritan came to Wilson's aid. Thomas then struck Christopher Shirley, who was trying to separate two women — one who was being beaten by the other.

Then Thomas attacked Kime, as Kime was helping an injured woman to her feet. Thomas struck Kime three times in the head. Kime suffered severe brain injury and died shortly after 7 p.m. Feb. 28.

What motivated Thomas to go through the crowd striking people "is something we will never know," Vitalich said.

An estimated 4,000 revelers were in the streets in Pioneer Square for Mardi Gras when alcohol-fueled fights broke out. Groups of young people, some wielding brass knuckles, attacked people at random. About 70 people were injured.

Police commanders, including Chief Gil Kerlikowske, ordered officers to stand by during the riot, fearing any move would only incite the crowd further.

The department's own investigation found that commanders handled the riot poorly and were unprepared for the crowd that showed up for the final night of Mardi Gras celebrations.

The police response was also criticized in an independent report commissioned by the Police Officers Guild.

The tragedy turned Kime's mother, Kim Kime-Parks, into an advocate for organ donations as she worked through her grief. She noted with satisfaction that her son's eyes had helped one man to see.

Although Thomas was found guilty, "it will never be enough," she said yesterday.

As the crowd in the marble halls of the courthouse began to thin, she unfolded a packet of paper she keeps in her purse. Inside was a lock of her son's dark hair, given to her at the hospital as Kime lay dying. She looked at it for a moment and then wrapped it up again.

"It's with me every day," she said. "Every day."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Nancy Bartley can be reached at 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com.