(This story by Bob Audette was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Dec. 13, 2016.)
BRATTLEBORO — A Wardsboro man could spend at least 20 years in jail after a grand jury returned a second-degree murder indictment for “unlawfully causing the death” of his neighbor.
On the evening of Oct. 18, the Vermont State Police responded to a residence on Gilfeather Road in Wardsboro to find Kirby Staib, 42, dead of a gunshot wound. Kevin Parker, 57, was taken into custody and during an interview with detectives, admitted to shooting Staib. Parker was later released with no charges filed. Late last week, the Windham County State’s Attorney’s Office called a grand jury in Newfane, which returned the indictment, along with a second charge of voluntary manslaughter. Parker was arraigned on Monday.
A grand jury does not determine guilt or innocence; instead, it reviews the evidence presented by the state, listens to witnesses and decides whether probable cause exists to charge someone with a crime and whether that person should stand trial. In most cases, the defense does not present its case during a grand jury.
To find probable cause for second-degree murder or voluntary manslaugher, the grand jury had to determine whether Parker killed Staib and that the killing was unlawful. In addition, the grand jury had to find that “Kevin Parker acted with an intent to kill, or an intent to do great bodily harm, or a wanton disregard of the likelihood that certain or great bodily harm would result.”
However, in the case of voluntary manslaughter, it is a killing “committed under sudden passion or great provocation that would mitigate, but not justify, the killing.”
With the indictment returned, if the case goes to trial, Parker, to be found not guilty, will have to convince a jury that he “reasonably believed … that he was in immediate, imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm; and that the use of deadly force was reasonably necessary to avoid the harm and repel the perceived threat.”
According to information released following the Oct. 18 incident, prior to the confrontation that resulted in Staib being shot to death, police had been called several times to Gilfeather Road “to intervene.” Parker told investigators he and Staib were “having issues concerning property boundaries,” stated a search warrant for Parker’s home. “Some of these issues were confrontational and the police were called several times to intervene.”
During his interview with detectives, Parker said that while out walking he saw Staib with a shovel. “A verbal argument ensued and Kirby pulled out a black semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at him,” wrote Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Richard Holden. “Parker advised he was armed with a ‘ranch rifle’ mini 14 so he shot him.”
Parker told investigators he carries the rifle because of problems with coyotes. Parker told investigators he thought Staib fired at him first but was uncertain, and that he was unsure how many times he shot back. Investigators found a Bersa Thunder .380 handgun next to Staib’s body.
They also found five .223 cartridge casings and four .380 cartridges.
During a search of Parker’s home at 600 Gilfeather Road, troopers discovered a Strum Ruger .223 Ranch Rifle with a magazine and 11 cartridges, and 1,971 .223 cartridges.
There were no witnesses to the shooting.
In determining whether charges should be filed, the grand jury had to take into account “any previous interactions, including any aggressive or hostile conduct by Kirby Staib … including who started the confrontation,” noted the closing instructions. “You may find that Kevin Parker acted intentionally if it was his conscious objective to cause death or great bodily harm to Kirby Staib.”
According to closing instructions, the grand jury could have found that Parker killed Staib in self-defense and in that case his actions “are excused, and he is not guilty of any crime.”
The grand jury was also allowed to consider whether Parker “had a reasonable fear” of harm from Staib.
“You should also keep in mind, however, that if you are persuaded Kevin Parker was the aggressor in the confrontation with Kirby Staib, then Kevin Parker may not have acted in lawful self-defense,” stated the closing instructions, which also noted that Parker does not have to prove he acted in self-defense, but that the state must prove he did not act in self-defense.
According to state statutes, to exercise self-defense, a person does not actually have to be assaulted or harmed. “However, you do have to have a belief that is reasonable under the circumstances,” noted the opening instructions. “An expectation of harm must have been based upon fact, and not on some imaginary fear. Kevin Parker must have had a reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily harm. … If he honestly and reasonably believed it was immediately necessary to use deadly force to protect himself from an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, the law does not require Kevin Parker to retreat.”
Parker pleaded not guilty and was released on a $25,000 surety bond or cash and with the condition that he stay with his brother in Connecticut, who is a police officer.
