By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEXINGTON - After listening to 20 days of testimony in the capital murder trial of Adele Craven, it was the jury's turn to ask questions Thursday.

Ms. Craven

The judge, defense attorneys and prosecutors went scrambling when the jury of 12 Fayette County residents asked for road maps of Northern Kentucky, videotapes of specific court testimony and records of the dates witnesses were questioned and evidence was collected.

The jury began its deliberations promptly at 9 a.m. Thursday.

The 10 women and two men deliberated 12 hours Thursday, asking for aspirin and antacids, before being sequestered for the night at 9 p.m. Jurors must decide whether Ms. Craven, 39, of Edgewood is guilty of complicity to murder in the death of her husband, Delta Air Lines pilot Stephen Craven, 38, in July 2000.

Several of the jury's questions seem to center around a photograph of a mirror strategically placed in the basement of the Craven home. The triggerman, hiding in a closet, used the mirror to see around the corner so he could watch for Mr. Craven.

Jurors asked when Kenton County police took the photograph of the mirror leaning against a sofa. The photo has been a source of controversy, resulting in an extended bench conference earlier in the trial.

The photograph was presented to the jury as if it had been taken in the hours following the killing on July 12, 2000. But the picture was taken August 2, 2000, after members of the Cravens' church had cleaned the home and set things back in place.

That resulted in Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe and Prosecutor Luke Morgan trying to explain to the jury that police put the mirror against the sofa and took a picture of it to illustrate how they believe the room looked the day of the killing.

The jury also asked to view videotapes of testimony by Russell "Rusty" McIntire, 34, of Erlanger, who said Ms. Craven recruited him to help kill Mr. Craven.

The part of the testimony the jury reheard was Mr. McIntire describing how it was Ms. Craven's idea to have the hit man see around the corner using a mirror.

Under prosecution questioning, Mr. McIntire testified that they had the actual mirror used in the crime sitting in the courtroom. But under cross-examination, he acknowledged he previously claimed he got rid of the mirror after the killing.

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com