Health |

Connor Kerner trial to start Oct. 6 in Porter County; Valparaiso man accused of killing two teens in drug deal gone bad

Porter County’s first murder trial since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is slated to go forward as planned on Oct. 6 when jury selection begins at the Porter County Expo Center for the trial of Connor Kerner, 19, of Valparaiso.

Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford outlined how the trial in his courtroom will be handled during a Tuesday hearing, which also provided some insight into what witness testimony will and will not be allowed during the trial, scheduled to last around three weeks.

Kerner, of the 100 block of Kinsale, took part in the hearing via videoconference from the Porter County Jail because of the pandemic. Kerner, was 17 when he allegedly killed Molley Lanham, 19, of St. John, and Thomas Grill, 18, of Cedar Lake, on Feb. 25, 2019, at his grandparents’ Hebron-area home after a drug deal went bad.

Kerner, who has pleaded not guilty, remains at the Porter County Jail without bond, held on two counts of murder and additional felony counts of intimidation, arson, murder in the perpetration of a robbery and attempted robbery.

Indianapolis attorney James Voyles, who is representing Kerner along with Merrillville attorney Mark Thiros, suggested pushing the trial back until the pandemic is less of a concern, and said he shared those concerns with Chief Deputy Prosecutor Armando Salinas.

“Depending on what expert you listen to, it could be January, it could be next fall,” Bradford said. “It’s become so politicized, it’s hard to tell what’s what.”

Under the plans for the trial outlined by Bradford, jury selection, 50 people at a time, will take place in the morning and afternoon of Oct. 6 and the morning of Oct. 7 at the Porter County Expo Center. The impaneled jury will report for opening arguments in his courtroom that afternoon.

Nine jurors will be seated in the jury box and another three, as well as two alternates, will be placed in the gallery to maintain social distancing, Bradford said. Spectator seats will be limited to two members of the media and one representative from each of the victims’ families and Kerner’s family.

If the jurors agree to waive social distancing, Bradford said, they could be seated together in the jury box. “If they agree, we can operate in a little more of a normal proceeding,” he said.

He is hoping to secure two jury rooms for breaks for jurors during the trial; if that doesn’t happen, jury breaks and deliberation will occur in his courtroom.

“I don’t like that but if it’s going to trial, it’s going to trial,” he said.

Before discussion of the logistics of the trial, Bradford went through motions by the state and the defense about what would and would not be allowed during the trial.

One of the topics that will be off limits will be questioning witnesses about the role of co-defendant John Silva II, 19, of Hamlet, in the alleged crime, unless Silva testifies during the trial.

Regardless, his name will inevitably come up during Kerner’s trial.

The jury, Bradford said, is going to know Kerner has a co-defendant. Silva is charged with two counts of murder in the perpetration of a robbery in deaths of Grill and Lanham and was additionally charged last month with two felony counts of attempted robbery. He, too, has pleaded not guilty and remains in Porter County Jail without bond.

“It’s not hearsay. It’s public record that he’s been charged with those and part of the defense is that he did it and not Mr. Kerner,” Bradford said.

Partial text messages Kerner exchanged with his mother in the days after the alleged murders will be allowed at trial but details about any alleged drug deals between Grill and Kerner before the day of the murders will not be allowed.

“We’re not going to try the victim. We’re trying the defendant,” Bradford said.

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.