Preliminary hearing ends Monday with ruling in Korey Kauffman murder case

Four weeks. That’s how long the preliminary hearing was supposed to last for Modesto attorney Frank Carson and five others charged in the slaying of Turlock resident Korey Kauffman.

Prosecutors offered that estimate in mid-October 2015, when the hearing began. It seemed, at the time, a reasonable guess.

Typically, preliminary hearings for murder cases in Stanislaus County go on for a few weeks until a judge decides whether there’s enough evidence for the defendant to stand trial. High-profile murder cases with multiple defendants might need a couple of months to complete.

The hearing for Carson and his co-defendants has gone on for nearly 18 months. It’s gone on hiatus for holiday breaks, scheduled vacations, sick days and to give the attorneys more time to work on the case.

But it’s clearly the longest preliminary hearing in Stanislaus County history, and it is expected to come to an end Monday with Judge Barbara Zuniga’s ruling. The visiting judge from Contra Costa County will decide whether a trial is needed for Carson and his co-defendants.

Prosecutors accuse Carson of being the ringleader of a criminal conspiracy to thwart thieves from repeatedly stealing antiques and scrap metal from his property on Ninth Street in Turlock. The prosecution alleges this conspiracy led to Kauffman’s death.

The defense calls the matter a case of wrongful prosecution by a vindictive Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office intent on ruining Carson, a prominent criminal defense attorney. The defense attorneys argued that the prosecution relied on witnesses who lied to investigators or on the witness stand after they were coerced by investigators who ignored other potential suspects in the man’s death.

Kauffman went missing in late March 2012. His remains were found in August 2013 in the Stanislaus National Forest in Mariposa County.

Testimony in the hearing began with text messages exchanged between Carson’s wife and her daughter, who are also charged in Kauffman’s death. The messages indicated efforts began in February 2010 to thwart would-be thieves on Carson’s Ninth Street property in Turlock.

The focus then switched to allegations of confrontations between Carson and his neighbors. There were claims of violent threats made by Carson, who believed his neighbor, Michael Cooley, was allowing his friends and family to sneak onto Carson’s property.

A Turlock police officer testified about Robert Jaquish, who said he was momentarily detained by Carson after he was caught trying to steal from the attorney. Jaquish was in custody on an unrelated charge in May 2012 when he first gave authorities his account.

Cooley’s brother and sister both testified that Kauffman was heading to Carson’s property on the day he disappeared. Rick Cooley said Kauffman wanted to steal irrigation pipes he spotted on Carson’s property.

For months, it was unclear whether key prosecution witness Robert Lee Woody would testify in the hearing. The prosecution was working on a plea deal for Woody in exchange for his testimony.

In February 2016, Judge Zuniga listened to an audio recording of Woody apparently bragging to his girlfriend about discarding Kauffman’s body. In the recording, made by the girlfriend at the request of investigators, Woody claimed Kauffman’s theft of metal led to his demise, and that Carson was responsible.

Woody has said he lied when he told authorities on July 22 that he saw Carson and then-California Highway Patrol Officer Walter Wells where Korey Kauffman was killed. Wells also is charged in Kauffman’s death. Woody said he was encouraged by his mother to lie to corroborate her own testimony in the hearing.

The defense has argued that Woody lied to escape the death penalty after he was coerced by law enforcement officials.

Woody testified that brothers Baljit Athwal and Daljit Atwal were fighting with Kauffman on Carson’s property when Kauffman was shot to death. He also has claimed that Kauffman’s body was buried just outside a Turlock liquor store owned by the brothers, who are also charged in Kauffman’s death.

In late December, the judge abruptly released Carson, Atwal and Athwal on their own recognizance after prosecutors revealed they had located more evidence not handed over to the defense. Carson’s wife and her daughter have been free on bail since early stages of the case, which began when the defendants were arrested in August 2015.

Wells was released from jail Dec. 13 on $50,000 bail after the prosecution said it will only seek felony charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and acting as an accessory after the alleged murder was committed. He will no longer face the murder charge once the hearing ends.

Zuniga could order a trial for all six defendants, drop all the charges or order a trial for some and drop the case for the other defendants.

The burden of proof in a preliminary hearing is much lower than in a trial, where a jury has to unanimously decide whether to convict the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. In a preliminary hearing, a judge has to decide whether enough evidence was presented to show probable cause that a crime was committed by the defendant.

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Preliminary hearing ends Monday with ruling in Korey Kauffman murder case."