BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT -- The death penalty will be sought against Daniel Chenot, the 25-year-old Newport man who is charged with stealing a bat, bludgeoning a Bellevue woman and then calling 911 to report the incident from her kitchen.
Mr. Chenot, who remains in the Campbell County Jail without bond, was indicted Thursday morning in Campbell Circuit Court. He is charged with murder, burglary, fleeing police, criminal attempt to commit burglary and being a persistent felony offender in the Sept. 26 attack on Kathleen Mitts, a 50-year-old mother of two.
Commonwealth Attorney Jack Porter's intent to seek the death penalty could be stymied by a public defender's plan to appear today before Campbell Circuit Judge William Wehr and ask that Mr. Chenot receive a mental examination.
Public defender Robert C. Patton wants to know whether Mr. Chenot, who once blamed his lengthy criminal record on his upbringing and the devil, is mentally competent to aid in his own defense.
Examination results could affect whether Mr. Chenot's statements to police stand and whether the death penalty actually is an option. A person cannot be convicted of intentional murder if he is not competent to know what he is doing, Mr. Patton said.
Also Thursday, a grand jury indicted Mr. Chenot on first-degree charges of rape, burglary and persistent felony offender in a Sept. 19 incident.
He is charged with breaking into a residence that day and raping a woman while threatening her with a dangerous instrument. Court records indicate Mr. Chenot told police about his involvement in that incident while answering their questions about Mrs. Mitts. Mr. Porter has been considering the death penalty since Mr. Chenot's arrest, but did not commit to it until this week.
"I wanted to make sure I knew exactly what we had and the quality of the evidence," he said. "I didn't want to do this without due deliberation."
A prosecutor can seek the death penalty only if a judge approves. Mr. Porter will have to prove that Mr. Chenot committed an aggravating offense while also committing murder.
Mr. Porter said the aggravating offense in this case would the first-degree burglary charge, which stems from Mr. Chenot's alleged unlawful entry into the Mitts home.
Mr. Chenot's next court appearance is Oct. 16, when he will be arraigned in Campbell Circuit Court.
Mr. Chenot's criminal record dates to an alcohol intoxication charge in 1991. Court records also show a history of burglary, with convictions in 1992 and 1993.
He had been on parole since May for burglary convictions in 1993. He pleaded guilty in September to two misdemeanor charges, which could have led to the revocation of his parole. His parole officer had been expected to review Mr. Chenot's case in early October.
