David Camm
Judge drops conspiracy charge against David Camm
BOONVILLE — After 21 days of testimony from more than 50
witnesses, the state on Monday rested its case against former state trooper David Camm for the murders of his wife and children.
The final witnesses included two doctors who specialize in detecting physical signs of sexual abuse in children. Both told the jury they believed that 5-year-old Jill Camm had been sexually molested within a day or two of her murder.
The girl, her 36-year-old mother, Kim, and 7-year-old brother, Brad, were shot to death in the garage of their Georgetown home on Sept. 28, 2000. David Camm was convicted of their murders two years later, but that decision was overturned in 2004 when a state appeals court ruled the defendant hadn’t received a fair trial.
The retrial was moved to Warrick County, where it continues this week with the defense presenting its case.
Monday, Dr. Betty Spivak, a forensic pediatrician with the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office, testified that the injuries to Jill Camm’s genital area were like those found in “relatively acute sexual abuse cases.”
“Sometime within a relatively short period of no more than a couple of days at most, and probably somewhat less, she sustained blunt trauma to her private parts that was by far and away the result of sexual abuse,” said Dr. Spivak, adding the injuries most likely occurred when Jill was undressed.
On a pain scale of 1 to 10 — with 10 being child-bearing pain — Jill’s injuries were in the 7 to 8 range, she said. The defense questioned how Jill was able to attend school and dance class on the day of the murders without any complaints if she was in that kind of pain.
Spivak and pediatric specialist Dr. Phillip Merk testified some activity would have been possible.
The defense theorizes Jill was molested at the time of the murders by Charles Boney, Camm’s recently convicted co-defendant. Boney told police he sold an untraceable gun to Camm, who then killed his family to cover up the molestation of his daughter. Camm denies knowing Boney.
Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson said it was “ludicrous” to think the person who molested Jill would have taken her from the vehicle, undressed her, molested her, then redressed her and put her back in the vehicle with her seatbelt on, as she was found.
Merk — professor of clinical pediatrics at Indiana University’s School of Medicine — told the jury that what he found “striking” abut Jill’s injuries is that they were on the interior, not the external area.
“There were no injuries, abrasions, tears of bruises in the external structure. Almost exclusively, a straddle injury is going to give more injuries to an external structure,” Merk said.
“We very rarely find findings like this,” he also said.
After the prosecution rested, defense attorneys Katharine “Kitty” Liell and Stacy Uliana asked Judge Robert Aylsworth to dismiss the conspiracy charge against their client because the state failed to provide evidence of conspiracy.
Aylsworth agreed, and dropped the charge. Camm remains charged with three counts of murder.
Today the defense was to begin presenting its case, expected to take about three weeks.
- David Camm
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Camm’s attorneys granted initial request for funding
Warrick County Superior Court No. 2 Judge Robert Aylsworth granted a request by David Camm’s attorneys last week for $75,000 from the Floyd County Public Defender’s Office to begin preparation for a third murder trial.
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Camm’s lead attorney withdraws from case
David Camm will have new lead counsel as his case moves toward a third trial.
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Indiana Supreme Court asked to reconsider David Camm decision
Camm has twice been convicted of murdering his wife, Kimberly, 35, and children, Bradley, 7, and Jill, 5
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What's next for David Camm?
After two trials and two convictions overturned on appeals
- Boney calls David Camm a murderer, says he won’t testify against him
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State of Indiana vs. David Camm — a look at both sides
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Camm's appeal now in Ind. Supreme Court's hands
After millions of dollars spent by taxpayers in Floyd County and two separate trials and convictions for the murders of his wife and two children, the fate of David Camm again is in question.
Camm, a former Indiana State Police trooper, is serving a life sentence without the chance of parole for the slaying of his wife Kimberly, 35, and their children, Bradley, 7, and Jill, 5, at their Georgetown home in 2000.
Now, Indiana Supreme Court justices are deliberating on whether to uphold the conviction, overturn it and have another trial or let Camm go free.
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Camm’s attorneys press to overturn conviction
A former state trooper’s conviction for murdering his wife and two children should be reversed because another man was acknowledged to be involved, defense attorneys argued in a brief filed in his appeal.
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Will Camm get another do-over?
After six years, two trials and nearly $2 million of taxpayer money, the last thing Floyd County wants to consider is the idea of twice-convicted murderer David Camm getting a third chance.
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Third, and likely final '48 Hours' special to air on David Camm
Richard Schlesinger, a news correspondent with CBS’ “48 Hours Mystery,” has followed the case from the beginning, and his reports have been shown in two previously aired episodes. The first came immediately after the first trial and the second after the appellate court’s decision to grant Camm a retrial.
The third, which airs Saturday night, will likely be the end to the five-year long saga as far as CBS is concerned, Schlesinger said.
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Camm’s attorneys granted initial request for funding
