The Kentucky Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of Christian “Kit” Martin but reversed his arson conviction.
In a 45-page ruling released Thursday, Justice Angela McCormick Bisig said that Martin’s three counts of murder, two counts of burglary, and three counts of tampering with physical evidence will remain in place.
Martin was convicted by a Hardin County jury in June of 2021 for the November 2015 triple-murder of Pembroke residents Calvin and Pamela Phillips and their neighbor Ed Dansereau. Calvin was found shot in his home, while Pamela and Dansereau were discovered several hours later a few miles away in the burned remains of a car.
Prosecutors said Calvin Phillips was scheduled to appear as a witness in Martin’s court-martial two weeks before Phillips was killed and that Dansereau was likely in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was killed.
In his appeal to the state Supreme Court, Martin argued that hearsay statements were admitted that the victims feared him, that the trial allowed his ex-wife and stepson to refuse to testify on Fifth Amendment grounds, and excluded certain alleged alternative suspect evidence.
Additionally, Martin claimed that evidence of a bullet casing was discovered by Phillips’s daughter and excluded evidence that she failed a polygraph examination. The appeal also said Martin was denied his motion for a directed verdict on the arson and murder charges and allowed his convictions on two counts of first-degree burglary to stand in violation of double jeopardy principles.
The court disagreed on all points – except for the directed verdict statement. The ruling said that Martin was “entitled to a directed verdict on the arson and attempted arson charges, but was not entitled to a directed verdict on the charges for the murders of Pam Phillips and Dansereau.”
A directed verdict is a ruling by a trial judge taking the case from the jury because the evidence will permit only one reasonable verdict.
The murder case took on a national appeal when Martin was arrested at the Muhammed Ali International Airport in Louisville while boarding a flight he intended to pilot. Court-TV covered Martin’s trial extensively as well as the sentencing. During Martin’s sentencing, a rally was held in front of the Christian County Justice Center with people claiming Martin was innocent.
Martin remains lodged in the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex in West Liberty under three life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Martin would need to undergo a new trial for the arson charges if the Commonwealth elects to do so.
The entire Kentucky Supreme Court ruling can be found here.
