BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Hours before her death, Judith "Sue" Crawford Tibbetts called her sister looking for boxes. She wanted to kick her husband of five weeks out of her home.
Before the end of that night, Raymond Tibbetts beat his wife with a baseball bat, then stabbed her 21 times, prosecutors said in opening statements in Mr. Tibbetts' murder trial Wednesday. He is also suspected of then killing Fred Hicks, Mrs. Tibbetts' elderly landlord.
Mr. Tibbetts could face the death penalty if convicted on aggravated murder and robbery charges.
Testimony began with relatives of Mrs. Tibbetts describing the short marriage and events that led up to her death. It was about 8 p.m. Nov. 5 when Mrs. Tibbetts called her sister Roseann Crawford. Mrs. Tibbetts was upset that her husband was smoking crack cocaine in their apartment in the Mohawk section of Over-the-Rhine, Ms. Crawford said.
"She couldn't take it no more," Ms. Crawford said. "She wanted him out." Mrs. Tibbetts then got distracted and vowed to call back. She never did, Ms. Crawford said.
About 10 p.m., a shiver crept down Ms. Crawford's spine, she testified Wednesday. "It was like something went through me. Something had happened, somewhere."
She called her sister. Mr. Tibbetts answered. His wife could not come to the phone, she was told. Mrs. Tibbetts had probably just been killed, assistant county prosecutor Gerry Krumpelbeck said. The slayings were brutal. Mr. Hicks was stabbed 12 times as he sat in his recliner. When officers found him, there were still four knives stuck inside his body.
In an upstairs bedroom, Mrs. Tibbetts had been struck at least four times in the head with a baseball bat. It is thought she was then stabbed 21 times. One knife was stuck in her neck. Her body was then covered with a sheet. Her wedding ring was no longer on her finger, but underneath her body.
"This was cold-blooded, and efficient," Mr. Krumpelbeck said.
Defense attorneys opted not togive their opening remarks until they present their case later this week.
Also in testimony Wednesday:
Hours after the killings, Mr. Hicks' car, which prosecutors said Mr. Tibbetts stole that night, broke down in the middle of a Covington intersection. Covington Lt. Mike Kraft stopped to help. He said police ran a check on Mr. Tibbetts and the car, and found no problems.
The bodies of Mr. Hicks and Mrs. Tibbetts would not be discovered for several more hours.
After Lt. Kraft and Mr. Tibbetts couldn't move the car, it was towed to an impound lot. Covington Officer Dave Finan Jr. told Mr. Tibbetts he was free to go. Cincinnati investigators later found blood on Mr. Tibbetts' pants and in the car, Mr. Krumpelbeck said.
