Judge accepts plea in murder trial, over protests of the family

Jennifer McBride / Leader Staff

In a courtroom packed with reporters and the friends and family of his victim, 20-year-old Arlee resident Kelly Birmingham, a.k.a. Kelly Stanfield, admitted murdering a local woman last May.

"On or about May 29, did you purposefully, knowingly cause the death of Tasheena Craft?" Birmingham's attorney, Lance Jasper, asked.

The answer came as a soft, muttered, "Yes."

Birmingham pled guilty to deliberate homicide as part of a plea agreement that drew intense criticism from Tasheena Craft's family and friends. The agreement, which Judge C.B. McNeil accepted over their protests, recommends Birmingham be sentenced to 100 years in the Montana State Prison- — a sentence that the family said would give Birmingham a chance to be paroled in 25 years.

"There should be no plea bargains for murderers," Craft's brother, Shonto Pete, told Judge McNeil during the change-of-plea hearing.

That sentiment was reflected in the homemade picket signs Craft's family and friends carried outside the courthouse. The protesters exchanged hugs and tears on Wednesday morning, holding signs with Craft's picture and slogans including "Take a Life, get Life," and "Justice for Sheena."

The protests triggered unusual security precautions. The line of people waiting to get into the courtroom held their cell phones in the air as officials frisked them with metal detectors. The court heard 15 other matters before finally turning to Birmingham.

Shonto Pete called out to County Attorney Mitch Young as the prosecutor took his seat in the courtroom.

"Mr. Young, Mr. Young," he said. "Last chance to take back the plea."

Young did not respond. Instead, he stood and told the judge that they had reached a plea agreement.

The family wrote a letter to the court contesting the proposal. In it, Diana Cote, Craft's mother, wrote that Birmingham had "no hope for any kind of rehabilitation" and called him "a menace to society."

"Due to the heinousness of the crime and the potential of the killer to kill again, he should never be allowed in public … He needs to do life without parole in order to keep the community safe," Cote wrote. "We know for a fact that other people have to answer for their crimes and we cannot understand why this alleged killer does not have to."

When Young told the court that the family disagreed with the plea agreement, Cote stood up and asked if she could speak for herself. She told the judge that the family wanted a continuance while she consulted some victims' rights groups. Judge McNeil explained to her that only the defense and prosecution could ask for continuances.

"I don't understand why you give them a lot of continuances and won't give us one," Cote said.

Birmingham has had multiple omnibus hearings over the past seven months since originally pleading not guilty to the charges in early June. However, it's not unusual for a murder case to go on for two or more years before being resolved.

Cote then asked Judge McNeil if he was acting "for" or "against" the family. Judge McNeil told her that he had to remain neutral. Cote sat down but Pete stood up, condemning the agreement.

"The family is the voice now of my sister and we want a trial!" he said.

Pete also expressed dissatisfaction about the way Young had handled the case.

Judge McNeil refused to replace Young or reject the plea agreement.

"There are very valid reasons for prosecutors to seek plea agreements," he said. He reminded Pete that a trial could end in an acquittal, despite the overwhelming evidence, citing the O.J. Simpson trial as a good example.

Pete said he was sure that a jury "in this community" would vote to convict. McNeil told him that even if they did, Birmingham would probably not get a life sentence because of mitigating factors.

The Judge was likely referring to the fact Birmingham was 19 at the time of the murder. His father, who had once been charged in a Ravalli court with beating his wife and two sons, had died in a motorcycle accident two days before Craft's death. Birmingham allegedly told detectives that Craft made a disparaging remark about his father, which sent him into a fit of rage.

Whether or not she did, Birmingham would have only needed one juror to believe that that was a "mitigating" circumstance, and he would have faced far less jail time.

Pete said he didn't want Birmingham to have a shot at parole because anything less than life imprisonment would be an injustice.

"Look at the sentence he gave my sister," Pete said.

Craft was living with Shonto Pete in Spokane, where she attended high school. She was visiting her sister, Shayla Cote, in Arlee when she was murdered.

According to court documents, sometime between 2:30 and 3 a.m. on May 29, Shayla Cote's boyfriend, Chance Crowder, woke up to go to the bathroom. He looked downstairs and saw Birmingham dragging Craft's naked body towards the door. Crowder later told detectives Birmingham admitted beating Craft at the crime scene.

"I kept hitting her and hitting her," Birmingham said to Crowder, according to an affidavit.

Birmingham told Crowder not to tell anybody about what he saw and to keep Craft's sister quiet while he cleaned the room with bleach.

Crowder went back to bed, lying down next to Cote until he heard Birmingham's pickup pulling out of the driveway. Then, Crowder woke his girlfriend and told her that Craft had been taken. Cote thought her boyfriend was dreaming until she went downstairs and couldn't find her sister.

Deputies from the Lake County Sheriff's office and Tribal officers found Birmingham at his Missoula County residence at about 6:45 a.m. Police saw a bottle of bleach and a single pink slipper lying in the cab of the 1982 Green Volkswagen pickup parked outside his house, which Birmingham said belonged to his late father and refused to let the police search.

Police found the matching pink slipper on Tasheena Craft's foot. Her body lay wrapped in a blanket on the grass in an area known as Arlee Pines, where Birmingham had grown up.

Birmingham was originally charged with tampering with deliberate homicide, two counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, one count of tampering with witnesses and informants, and two counts of felony escape attempt. Other than the homicide, each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

Homicide carries a maximum penalty of the death sentence, but Birmingham isn't eligible for execution. By Montana law, a murderer had to kill multiple people to merit the death penalty.

Along with homicide, Birmingham pled guilty to one count of tampering with evidence and one count of tampering with witnesses. The plea agreement calls for Birmingham to serve 10 years in prison per offense, to run concurrent with the 100 year sentence. The county attorney dropped the other charges and agreed to not to prosecute for a Nov. 25 incident, when Birmingham scuffled with officers while in jail.

One escape charge came from Birmingham's alleged attempts to flee the Arlee firehouse, where he was being held for questioning. The other charge stemmed from an incident on the way to detention, when Birmingham allegedly kicked out the back window of a deputy's car. Deputy Levi Read reported that his vehicle was going between 30 and 35 miles per hour when Birmingham leaped out of the car and started sprinting towards a ditch along the highway.

He quickly recaptured Birmingham, who was taken to the hospital for injuries, including severe road rash down his back.

The plea agreement also demands that Birmingham pay $15,000 in restitution, either at the time of sentencing or when the money becomes available from Birmingham's father's estate. He will also have to pay $270 in fines and fees.

In court, Judge McNeil tried to reassure the family as he accepted the plea agreement.

"I assure you that 100 years in the Montana State Prison is a serious sentence," McNeil told Craft's mother.

Birmingham kept his head down for most of his hearing, answering questions with a 'yes' or 'no' and remaining silent while the family spoke to the judge. When officers led Birmingham out in chains, Shonto Pete followed the convicted murderer out into the hallway.

"I hope you rot in there you son of a bitch!" Pete shouted before a detention officer quieted him.

Birmingham will be sentenced on Jan. 23 at 9 a.m.