By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEXINGTON - Adele Craven stood by her story that she had nothing to do with Stephen Craven's killing, as prosecutors attacked her credibility during nearly eight hours of cross-examination Wednesday.

"I did love Steve," Ms. Craven said before stepping down from the stand after testifying for about 14 hours over two days. "I still love him. Steve will always be a part of me."

Ms. Craven

Ms. Craven, 39, of Edgewood could be sentenced to death if found guilty of murder in her husband's death.

Prosecutors contend Ms. Craven conspired with her lover to hire a hit man to kill Mr. Craven, a Delta Air Lines pilot.

He was found dead nearly 2‡ years ago on the basement floor of his home.

The prosecution offered Russell "Rusty" McIntire, 34, of Erlanger life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years in exchange for testifying against Ms. Craven, with whom he had an affair.

A Kenton County jury has already found Ronald Scott Pryor, 35, of Independence guilty of murder for being the triggerman. He said he was promised $15,000.

Mr. Pryor could receive the death penalty at his sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 9.

The cross-examination of Ms. Craven was intense, with the Edgewood woman pitted against the state prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Christina Brown.

"In fact it was you, Ronald Pryor and Rusty McIntire together that committed this murder." Ms. Brown said to Ms. Craven. "Isn't that true?"

"That is not true, Ms. Brown." Ms. Craven responded. "Rusty McIntire and Ronald Pryor killed my husband."

"You know that Ms. Craven because you were there - right?" Ms. Brown said.

"I know that, Ms. Brown, because they confessed to it," Ms. Craven responded. "Rusty implicated me to save his own skin. He is betraying me."

The jury, made up of 10 women and two men, watched the testimony intently with many taking notes.

Wearing slingback pumps, a periwinkle-colored blouse and a gray skirt, Ms. Craven, the mother of two sons with Stephen Craven, spoke softly. Her voice was so faint during much of the two days of testimony that a juror passed Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe a note complaining that couldn't hear Ms. Craven.

McIntire for defense, too

In other developments in the trial, now entering its sixth week, Mr. McIntire - the prosecution's star witness - could now be called as a defense witness for Ms. Craven.

While a witness for the prosecution, Mr. McIntire said that Ms. Craven supervised the killing, even luring her husband into the fatal basement ambush with the sentence: "Honey, the ferret is loose."

Mr. Craven was struck 12 times on the head with a crowbar and shot in the head three times.

Mr. McIntire, 34, of Erlanger was transported back to Fayette County earlier this week in anticipation of testifying for a second time, Fayette County officials confirmed Wednesday.

Co-defense attorneys Deanna Dennison of Covington and Linda Smith of Florence have been fighting to be allowed to present evidence that Mr. McIntire had stopped taking anti-depressants while drinking heavily in the days leading up to the murder of Mr. Craven.

State courts are closed for the rest of the week because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The trial, which was moved from Northern Kentucky because of pretrial publicity, is in recess until Monday.

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com