By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Adele Craven confessed to arranging her husband's killing after five weeks of evidence was presented. Enquirer file

LEXINGTON - Adele Craven's 3 1/2-year lie came to an abrupt end Thursday when she stood before a judge and admitted she orchestrated her husband's killing.

The confession and guilty plea came after prosecutors had completed presenting five weeks of evidence in Craven's retrial. They had called dozens of witnesses and presented hundreds of pieces of evidence to show Craven helped arrange the July 2000 killing of Stephen Craven, a veteran Delta Air Lines pilot, in their home in Edgewood.

Witnesses said Craven hired a hit man, arranged for him to ambush her husband in the basement of their home, and stood by and watched as her husband was beaten and shot three times.

"There was not one event, piece of evidence or testimony in the prosecution's case that convinced Adele to accept a plea agreement," said co-defense attorney Kenneth McCardwell of Louisville. "It was a combination of everything."

In exchange for pleading guilty to the charge of complicity to murder, she avoided the possibility of being only the fourth woman in Kentucky history to be sentenced to death. Kenton County Circuit Judge Patricia Summe sentenced Craven, 40, to life in prison. She will be eligible for parole in 20 years.

Prosecutor Luke Morgan of Frankfort said the plea agreement was worth it, even if he didn't get a death sentence.

"The most important thing is she admitted what she did," said Morgan. "She won't be able to file appeals for years to come and harass the victim's family. This guilty plea will help relieve the pain that family has felt."

The trial had been moved from Covington to Lexington because of pretrial publicity.

Stephen Craven's brother, Bill Craven, rushed from his office furniture business in Atlanta to catch the first flight here so he could be in court to hear his sister-in-law admit to the killing.

He clutched the hands of other Craven family members, some of whom traveled from California, as Craven told the judge she did it.

"I was stunned at today's developments because she has denied it from the beginning," said Bill Craven, "but I always knew she was guilty. It was so obvious to us."

Bill Craven, who is raising the Cravens' two young sons, said he believes his brother would be satisfied. Bill Craven said his brother wasn't a death-penalty advocate.

"To hear her say she is guilty is the most valuable thing of all," Bill Craven said.

He said he soon plans to tell his nephews - now 10 and 12 - that their mother has pleaded guilty to their father's killing, but he would avoid the gruesome details.

"That's for them to find out when they are older," Bill Craven said.

Craven has been in jail since a few weeks after the murder.

Bill Craven has also filed a wrongful death suit against Craven in Kenton County circuit court. It was unclear Thursday whether the family will pursue that lawsuit.

The plea brings to an end a long legal battle. Craven's first trial ended with a hung jury in December 2002. Eight of the jurors wanted to acquit Craven.

In order to present a stronger case for the retrial, Morgan made a deal with the hit man, Ronald Scott Pryor. Pryor, already found guilty of murder, avoided the possibility of being sentenced to death in exchange for testifying against Craven.

Pryor told jurors how Craven wanted her husband killed, paid him $1,000, and even stuck a gun in his hand and said, "finish the job."

Craven's reputed lover, Russell "Rusty" McIntire, also testified against the woman as part of a plea deal.

McIntire told jurors that Craven had promised him an easy life if he helped her in the killing. He said Craven planned to collect on her husband's life insurance and marry him.

"We finally have closure today," said Morgan. "Adele Craven hurt so many people."

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com