Man Guilty Of Killing Wife With Antifreeze

James Keown Faces Life Sentence Without Parole; Prosecutors Say Money Was Motive

(CBS/ AP)  A Massachusetts jury has convicted a former Missouri radio reporter of killing his wife by poisoning her with antifreeze.

The Middlesex County jury convicted James Keown of first-degree murder Wednesday. They deliberated for less than two days.

Keown faces an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said Keown was deeply in debt and killed his 31-year-old wife, Julie, in hopes of cashing in her $250,000 life insurance policy. Julie Keown died in September 2004 of a lethal dose of a chemical found in antifreeze.

Authorities said James Keown spiked his wife's Gatorade with antifreeze while the couple lived in Waltham, Massachusetts. Keown later returned to Missouri.

Keown's lawyer said Julie Keown could have committed suicide or accidentally ingested the chemical.

Before handing down the life sentence, Judge Sandra Hamlin called Keown "an evil human being."

Julie Keown's parents, Jack and Nancy Oldag, held onto each other as they gave victim impact statements.

"In my mind, James is no longer a person. He's just a mass of flesh and bone. A real person never would have done so evil a thing," Nancy Oldag said.

Keown, 34, did not address the court. His mother sobbed as he was led away in handcuffs.

Assistant District Attorney Nathaniel Yeager said Keown killed his wife after he was fired from his job, the couple's financial problems worsened and a string of lies he had told his wife began to catch up with him.

Yeager said Keown told his Kansas City employer -- an educational consulting company -- he had been accepted at the prestigious Harvard Business School and asked if he could work remotely from the Boston area. The company agreed, and the Keowns relocated to Waltham in January 2004.

Six months later, Keown was fired when his boss discovered he had lied about being accepted to Harvard and had stolen a Web site design he was asked to develop for the company, Yeager said.

Julie Keown, a registered nurse, was hospitalized in August 2004 after her speech became slurred and she had difficulty walking. Doctors told her she was suffering from a kidney ailment.

Two weeks later, Julie Keown was hospitalized again. She died on Sept. 8, 2004.

During Keown's trial, a computer expert testified that two days before Julie Keown entered the hospital the first time, James Keown's computer showed he did a search using the words "ethylene glycol death human."

Keown's defense attorney told the jury Julie Keown became despondent after she was hospitalized in August, when doctors discovered she had an underlying chronic kidney disease that had been undiagnosed for years.

Keown was not charged in his wife's death until more than a year later, when he was arrested in Jefferson City, Mo., where he was a reporter and talk show host at radio station KLIK-AM.

[hypnotoad72]

Sinister. Never mind the greed, antifreeze-based toxicity takes DAYS, if not longer, and it crystallizes kidneys, never mind what it does to the other organs.

Absolutely sinister. Callous. Gruesome. I don''t always like the idea of "eye for an eye", but he deserves no less.

Also, atlanta1962, let''s keep on topic and save that desire to have people get you off with "gay bashing" for a pertinent thread. M''kay?

[sistatee-2009]

Authorities said James Keown spiked his wife''s Gatorade with antifreeze...
Before handing down the life sentence, Judge Sandra Hamlin called Keown "an evil human being."

At least she didn''t freeze to death.

[randynason]

Now, Keown can have some real fun, showering with his buddies in prison, and work on that expose-all book of his he''s always wanted to do. Too bad the state didn''t/couldn''t impose the death penalty and save taxpayers some money.

[sociald63]

he''ll make a fine b-i-tch for bubba :)

[loneeagle57]

Authorities said James Keown spiked his wife''''s Gatorade with antifreeze

Gatorade it''s what quenches your thirst

[sidvicious76]

How do ya know anti-freeze ain''t in gatorade?

[loneeagle57]

Not sure they do have that glacier ice flavor

[jjhaflac28]

What an idiot...I went to high school in Jefferson City with this guy. He used to do the morning address over the intercom at Jefferson City High. I was shocked when I ran across this. Why do people think they can get away with such things. I feel so sorry for both families. Now he can be someones "red headed step child"

[deacon20081]

Bring back "FRONTIER JUSTICE"

[stn_sage]

I wonder if she was attracted to him because in her eyes he represented ''the bad boy''?! The slightly aloof, but dangerous fellow?! WELL---she should have stuck with a dependable, steady accountant instead! She''d be alive today!

[ubrew12]

stn_sage said: "I wonder if she was attracted to him because...he represented ''the bad boy''? WELL--she should have stuck with a dependable, steady accountant instead! "

***??

[patriot12436]

No one should make jokes about someones death like this. This poor woman had her life taken by someoen she trusted it too.

[sidvicious76]

Everyone should make jokes about this death. Everyone.

[loneeagle57]

I don''t know if i could come up with enough material to really joke about this one.

[stn_sage]

My comment was an inquiry about the mental state of the victim during the pre-marriage stage of her relationship with her husband and what attracted her to him.

My second comment was merely an observation and suggestion regarding someone who might have been a better choice!

Understand, NOW?!

[minnick8-2009]

Add antifreeze to the list of things which should be banned as a potential weapon. I''m sure someone may have said that previously, but I''m just now reading the news.

[nssherlock1]

Maybe she was frigid.

[rwsmith29456]

Don''t care whether he hated her and for what, if any reasons. This guy is a cold-blooded murderer who killed his wife to extricate himself from his own problems. Did anybody see the movie ''Fargo''?

[nothappyatall]

Keown''s lawyer said Julie Keown could have committed suicide or accidentally ingested the chemical. "

Oh yeah RIGHT! amazing the garbage defense lawyers try coming up with.

[patriot12436]

Sid
The good thing about you is as long as your here making idiotic remarks your not out molesting children.

[patriot12436]

I don''t think this guy hated her. I think he killed her in cold blood just to collect the insurance money.

[smurfcrusher]

hmmm.... James Keown Faces Life Sentence Without Parole...

I guess this means he shouldn''t have murdered his wife.

A pity that he couldn''t find other reasons not to slowly, painfully, kill that woman who married him, before he poisoned her.

[hamiltongrad]

This is just another example of a man not able to handle a women right for independence. He should go directly to gas chamber.

[sgtrds-e4]

Maybe she was frigid?

[whiskyrocker]

She was probably the reason they were in debt. I guess she had it coming.

[harpoot]

Cold blooded???

[nssherlock1]

He should have bought her a watermelon.

[ianlou]

Losers rarely self-destruct gracefully.

... and for some incomprehensible reason, behind every bad man is a good woman with bad judgement.

[mrmazerati]

cbsnews.com comment sections- a collection of the worst losers in America. I''m just constantly amazed and disgusted.

[whiskyrocker]

mrmazerati:

If your so disgusted quit reading the comments.

[edgardebbins]

I don''t see how she didn''t notice a bad taste. Don''t know why he would think anyone would buy the suicide story. Maybe everyone should go through a psychopath screening before getting married.

[erasmus81]

How do ya know anti-freeze ain''''t in gatorade?

Posted by sidvicious76 at 11:15 PM : Jul 02, 2008

It is in koolaid.


"I don''''t see how she didn''''t notice a bad taste."

Posted by EdgarDebbins at 10:56 AM : Jul 03, 2008

Antifreeze is supposed to taste very good. It is also a very painful way to die.

[erasmus81]

Years ago, I heard there was an ingredient from antifreeze in koolaid. Whether it was true or not, or if it is still in it, I don''t know.

[blackyowe]

Antifreeze has a sweet taste and pets often drink it by mistake when humans are careless and leave it around. It would be easy to slip it into a sports drink. It causes kidney failure and liver damage.

[keithle1]

Don''t lie, kids. You always get caught. Difficult to keep the b.s. straight. You forget what you said last time. You become your own worst enemy.

[dan_shields-2009]

wow, that "man" is truly a monster

[blackyowe]

He looks like a looser with no soul who worships money, quite frankly!