LIHUE — A man accused of trying to kill another man at Anini Beach was found not guilty Thursday in Fifth Circuit Court. After only 90 minutes of deliberations, 28-year-old Kyle Welch was acquitted of attempted murder in the second
LIHUE — A man accused of trying to kill another man at Anini Beach was found not guilty Thursday in Fifth Circuit Court.
After only 90 minutes of deliberations, 28-year-old Kyle Welch was acquitted of attempted murder in the second degree and terroristic threatening in the first degree.
“Justice was done,” said defense attorney Craig De Costa. “The state didn’t prove its case. The jurors all saw the evidence the same way. We’re satisfied.”
Welch was released from Kauai Community Correctional Facility Thursday.
The state also commented on the verdict.
“The jury trial system is one of the cornerstones of our constitutional democracy and even when we don’t like the result, we respect it,” said Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar. “We hope the resolution allows the victims in this case to start the process of moving forward.”
After seven days of testimony by more than a dozen witnesses, 12 jurors unanimously decided that Kyle Welch did not intend to kill Jeremy Alderson nor did he threaten Jesse Reynolds with a machete on Jan. 9, 2014 at Anini Beach.
Despite the state introducing evidence about the victim’s life-threatening injuries, it could not prove that any of the weapons were used in the fight or had any blood on them, De Costa said.
Welch used his elbows in the fight, both counsels said.
But Welch stopped before Alderson died and did not use deadly force, De Costa told jurors. Alderson was sitting up, talking and coherent, De Costa said during closing arguments.
Welch was arrested on Jan. 9, 2014 when a neighbor called Kauai Police Department dispatch to report an assault at a campsite at the end of Anini Road.
The neighbor testified he became aware of an incident when a “man came up to the house and he was very shaken up.”
The man, according to the neighbor’s testimony, told him to call police. According to court records, the man was involved in the alleged altercation with Welch and the victim.
When police found Welch, he was holding a guitar and a machete and spontaneously uttering statements, including telling police he had “just beat the (expletive) out of that guy up there,” according to court records.
Welch had been in jail ever since on $750,000 bail.
De Costa said jurors had several options they could have chosen on their ballot forms, including finding Welch guilty of lesser charges of assault.
