Christy Edgar requests separate trial in death of 9-year-old son

Kansas City Star/April 26, 2003
By Tony Rizzo

The mother of a slain Overland Park boy asked Friday to be tried separately from her husband and the child's baby sitter. Christy Edgar, Neil Edgar Sr. and Chasity Boyd are charged in Johnson County District Court with first-degree murder in the child abuse death of 9-year-old Brian Edgar.

Bob L. Thomas, the lawyer for Christy Edgar, argued in legal documents filed Friday that the defendants would employ "antagonistic defenses" at trial.

Christy Edgar will be accused not only by prosecutors but also by her husband, Thomas said.

Brian Edgar suffocated in December after being bound with duct tape. After a preliminary hearing last week, Neil Edgar's lawyer argued that Christy Edgar and Boyd were responsible.

Carl Cornwell, who represents Neil Edgar, and Boyd's lawyer, Robert Kuchar, said they would not seek separate trials.

Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison said he would seek to have all three tried together.

But Thomas maintained in Friday's motion that Christy Edgar's right to a fair trial would be jeopardized unless she received a separate trial.

Neil Edgar gave a statement to police implicating himself in the abuse of Brian, Thomas said in his motion. But he said he expected Neil Edgar to recant the statement at trial.

That dovetails with the prosecution's theory that Christy Edgar and Boyd physically bound the child, Thomas maintained.

A hearing on the severance motion is scheduled for Wednesday before District Judge John Bennett.