Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 12, 1995 TAG: 9506120091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Christopher C. Goins, 21, faces the death penalty if convicted of fatally shooting five people in a public housing complex Oct. 14. Three of the victims were children, which sparked outrage in a city that grappled with a record 160 murders in 1994.
Goins and girlfriend Monique Littlejohn, whose trial on charges of being an accessory before the fact also is to begin today, were arrested in New York City on Nov. 17 after eluding authorities for a month.
Killed were Daphne Jones, 29; her boyfriend, James Nathaniel Randolph Jr., 34; and three of Jones' children, Nicole, 9, David, 4, and Robert, 3. Each victim was shot at least once in the head at close range.
Prosecutor David M. Hicks, Richmond commonwealth's attorney, contends Littlejohn was angry that Goins had impregnated Daphne Jones' 14-year-old daughter, Tamika. Littlejohn encouraged Goins to eliminate the problem, according to the prosecution.
Tamika and her 20-month-old sister, Kenya, survived the shootings, although Tamika was shot several times and the 7-month fetus she was carrying died. Prosecutors say Tamika will testify that Goins entered the Gilpin Court apartment and shot the family.
Because of the intense publicity that accompanied the slayings, the Richmond Circuit Court case will be heard by a jury from Gloucester County.
The panel of nine men and six women, including alternates, will be bused back and forth each day from Gloucester, which is about an hour away. Judge Thomas N. Nance has set aside a week for the trial.
Prosecutors said at a recent hearing that they intend to show a videotape of a smiling Goins shortly after his arrest as evidence of a lack of remorse. Goins often has appeared nonchalant in court - once whistling as he entered the courtroom.
Goins and Littlejohn both fought extradition from New York, but were returned to Richmond in February.
Littlejohn, 21, is charged with being an accessory before the fact to each of the 14 charges against Goins. If convicted, she could receive multiple life sentences. Judge Robert W. Duling, who will preside over her trial, will try to seat a jury made up of Richmond residents.
Hicks has said the trial is the most expensive in the history of the city. The full cost may never be calculated, because most of the people involved are salaried city or state employees.
by CNB