Christy Edgar pleads guilty to murder, child abuse

Judge, defense lawyers meet about trial of her husband, babysitter

Moments before testimony was set to begin this morning, church evangelist Christy Edgar pleaded guilty to killing her son and abusing two other children.

Attorneys had just completed opening statements to the jury in the trial of Edgar; her husband, Neil Edgar Sr.; and family babysitter Chasity Boyd when Christy Edgar’s lawyer Bob Thomas told the judge that she wished to change her pleas and plead guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse.

Thomas told the judge that he had strongly advised her not to change her plea and even suggested that she meet with another attorney to get a second opinion. But Christy Edgar insisted that she did not want to meet with another attorney and that she wanted to plead guilty to the charges.

Her husband, who sat just a few feet away from her in the courtroom began sobbing as the judge questioned her about her decision. Boyd, too, cried as District Judge John Bennett took the plea from Christy Edgar.

Before Bennett accepted the plea, prosecutors brought in the health administrator from the county jail to testify that Christy Edgar was not taking any drugs that would affect her decision-making process.

Bennett then said that based on evidence he had heard at the preliminary hearing and statements made Thursday morning by District Attorney Paul Morrison, he thought that the evidence would be sufficient to support guilty pleas. He accepted the pleas, found her guilty and scheduled sentencing for Nov. 5.

The judge and lawyers for Neil Edgar and Chasity Boyd planned to meet early this afternoon to discuss how the rest of the case would proceed.

Source

(Listed if other than Religion News Blog, or if not shown above)
The Kansas City Star, USA
Sep. 18, 1003
Tony Rizzo, The Kansas City Star
www.kansascity.com

Religion News Blog posted this on Friday September 19, 2003.
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