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Oregon Live
September 29, 2015
A Washington County jury found Joda Cain guilty of manslaughter Friday in the sledgehammer bludgeoning of his great-grandmother, rejecting aggravated murder charges.
Jacqueline Bell, 71, died in the early hours of Oct. 5, 2013, in the bedroom of her Cedar Mill home. She had recently gained custody of Cain, who moved from Kansas City, Mo., to live with her and attend Sunset High School.
Cain, 19, faced two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of felony murder in Circuit Court. If convicted, he faced a maximum of life in prison.
The jury reached a verdict after a full day of deliberations, finding him not guilty of aggravated murder or murder but guilty of first-degree manslaughter. The lesser charge carries a Measure 11 sentence of 10 years in prison.
Judge Rick Knapp set the teen’s sentencing hearing for Oct 6.
Cain’s cousin, Micus Ward of Kansas City, Mo., is also accused in Bell’s death. His case is pending.
Cain, represented by attorneys Conor Huseby, Bill Redden and Dean Smith, covered his face throughout the trial whenever photos were shown of Bell’s battered body. He showed no visible reaction as the judge read the verdict shortly after 6 p.m.
The defense lawyers said the verdict indicated jurors believed that Cain was reckless in bringing his cousin to Oregon, but that he was not a murderer.
Prosecutors had argued that Cain masterminded his great-grandmother’s murder and helped his cousin carry it out, while his defense team claimed he was only a witness to his cousin’s deadly assault on Bell.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lesowski said Cain was telling people days before Bell’s death that his great-grandmother was going on a months long trip to India, he was going to have a lot of money and he was throwing a huge party on the night of Oct. 5.
Cain used Bell’s credit card to buy his cousin’s Oct. 4 flight to Portland. In Facebook messages before his arrival, Ward asked Cain where Bell would be during the party, Cain replied, “I will talk to you about that when you get here.”
All of that added up to overwhelming evidence of Cain’s plan, Lesowski argued. “It’s absolutely chilling,” he said. “He knows what’s going to happen to her.”
In the early morning hours of Oct. 5, Bell’s screams woke Cain’s friend, who was asleep in another part of the house. He testified he heard Ward’s voice, demanding money. Then he heard Cain’s voice, telling Ward to “just do it.” He heard Bell screaming for help. Scared by what was happening, the friend left, he testified.
Lesowski argued the cousins overpowered her in a violent struggle, evidenced by a small table overturned, a wall lamp knocked askew, blood smears on the wall and Bell’s defensive wounds – bruised arms, a broken wrist.
The cousins took off in Bell’s car for Missouri, taking her purse, credit cards and a couple pieces of jewelry she treasured, Lesowski said. Oregon State Police troopers caught up to them in eastern Oregon, he said, stopping them after a high-speed chase.
