There was an emotional half-hour Tuesday afternoon in Trigg County Circuit Court, as Katelynn Schiro told the court about a loving, warm relationship that existed between she, her brother Landon Stinson, her cousin Matthew Blakeley and great aunt Sue Faris.
They were “practically raised together,” she said, and she called Faris “her best friend” — even going as far as giving her daughter, Gabriella, the middle name “Sue.”
With Stinson charged in the July 2021 double-homicide of Blakeley and Faris, Schiro told Defense Attorney Bill Deatherage that it was “well-known” Stinson was leaving his Cerulean Road bedroom to an apartment on Julien Road.
In fact, it was Schiro and Faris who assisted in the matter.
Schiro said she and Faris “tried to talk” Stinson out of the Julien Road apartment because he “couldn’t afford it,” and that Faris even went as far as to make Stinson a first aid kit that had “Love Katelynn, Sue and Gabriella” handwritten on its top.
The first aid kit, Schiro added, was a bit more personal than just an average kit.
Schiro testified to a great many things about her brother’s character. He was a witness for the Blakeley wedding between Matthew and Bobbie Jo, and she’d never known Stinson to be violent, or own a firearm.
And as Deatherage entered family photos into evidence, Schiro cried — then recollected herself. Several family members on the defense’s side of the court also wept.
In cross examination, Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins was able to connect that while Schiro often visited the Cerulean Road and Julien Road residences, she ultimately lived in Paris, Tennessee, and had for “about five years.” As such, Schiro didn’t have access to the daily dynamic.
Kentucky State Police’s lead investigator Detective David Dick was also recalled to the stand again Tuesday afternoon — in order to connect Blakeley with a large group of friends and associates that allegedly discussed growing, smoking and selling marijuana in large quantities.
These text messages, according to a transcript from Defense Attorney Chris Woodall, include some conversations both three months prior and a few days before Blakeley’s death with a “Lee Sims,” a “Mike Brown,” a “Sir John,” a “Jarvis,” a “Derrick,” and other trailing individuals.
Woodall asked Dick if he, or anyone in KSP, followed up with any of these individuals as potential leads or points of interest in Blakeley’s death.
Originally married to Stinson’s stepsister, Mallory Neighbors, Dillon Dawson remarked to the court that the two used to work together on the same shift at the Walmart Distribution Center. And that, after a clocking out on June 30, 2021, Stinson remarked to him that he was “interested in going to California.”
However, when examined by Ovey-Wiggins, Dawson said he couldn’t recall if Stinson ever told him when he wanted to go to California, nor could he formulate whether the conversation even occurred on June 30, 2021, or on some other date near that July weekend.
Jeremy Brown, a life-long friend of Stinson’s from their days in Cadiz, testified that the two often conversed by phone and text message. From 2016 until about 2017, Brown worked for social media company Vine in California, and he said he often relayed to Stinson the opportunity to restart and network in Los Angeles. He also testified that he witnessed Stinson, Blakeley and Faris often in their friendship and relationship throughout the years, but hadn’t done so intimately since 2018.
In cross from Ovey-Wiggins, she asked Brown about what it took to move from Cadiz to California.
It was a clear reference to Stinson’s rapid travel from west Kentucky to California. By 8 AM July 3, 2021, he’d traveled more than 900 miles into Amarillo, Texas. From there, it’s another 1,100 miles to Los Angeles, where he was picked up by California Highway Patrol on July 5, 2021.
Stinson left behind almost everything in both the Cerulean and Julien Road homes. Kentucky State Police officials have stated multiple times that none of his identifying belongings were found on his person, or in his red truck, when he was extradited back to Trigg and Christian counties. The truck had a few “loose bullets” in the floor board, as well as some items of clothing.
In some other key notes:
— Just before the lunch hour, Dick told Ovey-Wiggins that Stinson maintained two different stories about his July 2, 2021, visit to Cerulean Road, which put him there on the night of at two different time slots and for two different reasons: one from 3-4 PM and one from 5-6 PM. Stinson told KSP he went over to Cerulean Road, letting Blakeley and Faris know he was headed to California. Stinson told his mother, Rhonda Neighbors, he needed to pick up his scales before going cross country.
— Dick also told Deatherage that the Faris tablet/iPad at the crime scene didn’t need to be tested because it “wasn’t relevant,” and that it wouldn’t have any “usable information.”
Court is expected to resume at 9 AM Wednesday, and it remains unclear at this time whether Stinson will take the stand.
