Thursday, May 20, 1999
Furnish found guilty in killing
Jury next to decide sentence
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Fred Furnish could receive the death penalty after a Kenton Circuit Court jury found him guilty Wednesday of murder for strangling Jean Williamson, 66, in her Crestview Hills home last June.
The verdict means the 12-person jury believes Mr. Furnish, 31, of Covington, entered Ms. Williamson's home on June 25, strangled her, stole her jewelry and ATM card and later used the items to enjoy a night of cocaine use. He was also convicted of burglary, robbery, theft and receiving goods by fraud.
The verdict came Wednesday after about four hours of deliberations, but the jury's work is not over.
Jurors are to return to court this morning so they can begin hearing testimony that will determine whether they sentence Mr. Furnish to death or somewhere between that and 20 years in prison.
“This trial isn't over,” public defender Michael Folk said. “The worst verdict we could've gotten, we got. But it's still a big step before the trial is resolved. We still have a lot of hope in this case.”
Kenton Commonwealth Attorney Don Buring, who has advocated the death penalty against Mr. Furnish, will be able to present information on Mr. Furnish's criminal record. He has a history of burglary convictions.
On the other hand, Mr. Folk and his fellow public defenders Mary Rafizadeh and Bill Spicer will call about 10 witnesses to the stand in an attempt to keep the jury from sentencing Mr. Furnish to death row.
Those witnesses will include Mr. Furnish's relatives. There also is supposed to be testimony about Mr. Furnish's cocaine use, the effects of the drug on his life and his attempts to seek help before he broke into Ms. Williamson's Calumet Court home.
The defense team has contended that Mr. Furnish meant to burglarize the home, but not to kill her. Instead, they have said an unnamed person committed the murder.
On June 25, Ms. Williamson's housekeeper arrived and found her strangled. Her jewelry boxes had been ransacked. There was no sign of forced entry. Police turned to Mr. Furnish after they found his name on a receipt for a carpet cleaning last May 19 on Ms. Williamson's kitchen table.
Both the defense and the prosecution have agreed that Mr. Buring's case is based on circumstantial evidence. Mr. Furnish did not testify on his own behalf.
But Ms. Williamson's daughter, Gayle Williamson, testified against Mr. Furnish last week. She sat in the courtroom Wednesday with her head down. Then the jurors were polled to confirm that they had found Mr. Furnish guilty on each charge.
Her head kept rising as jury members' “yes” answers punctuated the air.
Mr. Furnish's relatives, also in the courtroom, were in tears before the verdict was delivered.
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