New trial set for man accused of killing wife with antifreeze
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff
A state judge has granted a mistrial in a case against a man who is accused of poisoning his wife by lacing her Gatorade with antifreeze because a medical expert for the defense underwent emergency surgery.
A new trial date for James Keown has been set for June 9.
Jurors had been selected and sworn in last week and were slated to hear opening arguments in Middlesex Superior Court on Monday. After two days of delays, Judge Geraldine Hines declared a mistrial on Wednesday. Defense lawyers told the judge that a medical expert critical to their case underwent emergency surgery in Indianapolis over the weekend and couldn't make the trip to Massachusetts to testify.
Keown, 33, a former radio talk show host in Missouri, is accused of killing his 31-year-old wife, Julie, on Sept. 8, 2004, while the couple was living in Waltham by repeatedly giving her Gatorade and other drinks and food that had been laced with antifreeze.
His wife, a registered nurse, started getting ill in May 2004 with symptoms that included vomiting, nausea, and slurred speech. She was originally diagnosed with gastritis. Four months later her kidneys started deteriorating. She was being treated at Newton-Wellesley Hospital when she slipped into a coma and doctors discovered ethylene glycol, the poisonous substance found in antifreeze, in her system. She was given an antidote, but it was too late to save her life.
Keown was arrested on Nov. 7, 2005, while he was on the air, hosting a radio talk show on KLIK-AM in Jefferson City, Mo. Prosecutors allege Keown murdered his wife so he could collect a $250,000 life insurance policy. The couple had been married for eight years and moved from Kansas City, Mo., to Waltham in January 2004.
A new jury will be selected for the June trial.
