ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — Tuesday morning, prosecutors described to a jury the horrific scene of a quadruple murder in 2018.
Richard Darren Emery is charged with killing his girlfriend, her two young children and her mother in 2018. He faces four counts of first-degree murder along with charges on 11 other crimes.
On Sept. 5, Leslie Knight with the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney's Office confirmed prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Emery in this trial.
In back in 2018, St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar called it the "worst example of a domestic violence case," and police said they had never been called to the home for an incident before the shooting.
Opening statements
Lawyers made opening statements Tuesday, Sept. 20, and the state called their first witnesses.
Prosecutors said Emery planned the murders, while the defense argued he suffers from a mental illness.
Prosecuting attorney Phillip Groenweghe started off saying Kate Kasten wanted to have a family night at their home on Dec. 29, 2018. Her mother Jane Moeckel was staying there at the time because she needed care after having a hip replacement.
As for the family dynamic, Kate became a widow in 2017 after her husband died from cancer. Together, they had two children, Zoe and Jonathan Kasten.
Kate had been dating Emery for a year, and he was living with the family.
On the night of Dec. 29, Groenweghe said Kate asked Emery to stay home to spend time with the family. Instead, prosecutors said he went out to drink.
Everything changed in the next half-hour after he came back at 11:24 p.m. Four people were found shot inside the St. Charles home on Whetstone Drive.
"Two women, two children, three generations of one family killed by this man," Groenweghe said in court Tuesday.
He told the jury this was done after deliberation, and the murders were international and purposeful.
"The defendant was not deranged," Groenweghe said. "He was not hallucinating. He knew fully the means of determination. This was someone who had a plan."
Groenweghe told the jury that the children, 8-year-old Zoe and 10-year-old Jonathan, were not a threat to the defendant until they became witnesses of their mother and grandmother's deaths.
Groenweghe said Kate was the first one shot but the last one to die.
"She was clinging on to life," he said.
She suffered massive brain trauma, and she could barely make words. When police arrived, all they could make out from what was Kate saying was, "Zoe, my little girl."
Groenweghe shared the following details:
- Nine shots were fired, and seven shots hit victims.
- All four were shot in the face or head with a range of less than two feet.
- Emery had to go from one room to the next for the victims.
- There was an altercation between Kate and Emery in the master bedroom upstairs, and that was to get control of the gun.
- Emery then shot Kate in the shoulder and head.
- Kate didn't die instantly, though. She was alive when her family was killed.
- Kate was taken to an area hospital, where she later died.
- Jane and the children barricaded themselves in another room. Jane called 911, and in that call you can hear, "He is beating us. He is shooting us. He shot my daughter." And then, gun shots go off
- Jane was shot in the right cheek, and this created brain and spinal damage. Both children saw their grandma killed
- As for the children, Groenweghe said he doesn't know who was shot first, but one sibling saw the other die.
- In the 911 call, you could hear someone saying, "Why, why, why," and then a man said, "What did you say?'" and shots go off again.
- Jonathan was shot three times, with the final blow killing him.
We're told after the shooting, the defendant left the home, locked the door and left in his pickup truck.
Groenweghe said Emery got his AR15, a duffel with eight cartridges loaded, 400 rounds of ammunition and 500 rounds for his 9MM gun. That's when Emery allegedly stabbed a woman during a carjacking and exchanged gunfire with St. Charles police.
Emery was later found by police wounded at a gas station several miles away.
"He knew exactly what he was doing," Groenweghe said. "These weren't random acts."
The defense
Defense lawyer Stephen Reynolds started off saying his client, who he referred to as Darren, was at a bar and realized he should've been home with his family on the night of Dec. 29, 2018.
That's when he left the bar and went home.
Reynolds then said, "Seven-to-eight hours later, Darren was in a bathroom at QuikTrip and wandering St. Charles for hours. He crawled out on his belly with his hands up. He killed four people he loved. He murdered them."
The defense said evidence will show Emery will be held accountable for murder, but it shouldn't be for first degree.
"There was no deliberation or reflection," Reynolds said.
He further explained Emery has a mental health issue and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. He told the jury the symptoms associated with this disorder are also seen in this case.
As a backstory, Reynolds described Emery's dating pattern. He had two failed marriages and a son, but he claims testimonies will share he had no reputation of violence.
Reynolds added that Emery was forming the family he wanted with Kate.
On Dec. 28, 2018, when Emery arrived drunk at home, Reynolds said an argument broke out, and Kate told him to leave and pack up his belongings.
Reynolds said, "What affect did this have on him?"
He describes symptoms of borderline personality disorders came about such as overreacting and impulsivity.
"He is responsible and was out of control. What he did was beyond words," Reynolds said to the jury.
But Reynolds is asking the jury not to charge Emery with first-degree but second-degree murder. This would take the death penalty off the table.
What's next
In early September, Knight told 5 on Your Side the trial is expected to take five to six weeks.
The judge told the jury there will be two stages at the end of the trial:
- Deciding if he is guilty or not.
- Determining his punishment.
In 2019, 5 On Your Side spoke with Kate Kasten's father, who said prosecutors consulted him before seeking the death penalty. He told them he approved of the decision.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.