FULTON & SARATOGA COUNTIES – Under continued questioning by his own attorney, murder defendant Georgios Kakavelos on Thursday acknowledged lying to police during two interviews following the October 2019 disappearance of his employee Allyzibeth Lamont, saying he did so out of fear of former co-defendant James Duffy and to protect his family.
“Were you honest with police?” asked Kevin O’Brien, the lawyer for Kakavelos, who is on trial in Saratoga County Court on charges of first-degree murder and evidence tampering in connection with the death of Lamont, who was killed on Oct. 28, 2019, at the Local No. 9 Smokehouse and Substation in Johnstown, which Kakavelos owned and where Lamont worked.
“Not at all,” answered Kakavelos, in the second day of testimony in his own defense.
O’Brien wrapped up his questioning of Kakavelos Thursday morning. Saratoga County prosecutors are now set to cross-examine Kakavelos Thursday afternoon. He is expected to be the only defense witness after the prosecution rested earlier this week following four weeks of testimony.
Kakavelos maintained that Duffy — who in April pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testimony against Kakavelos — was the sole actor in the slaying. Kakavelos contended he was threatened with a knife, he and his family were directly threatened with death and he was otherwise coerced by Duffy.
Kakavelos drove Duffy to Saratoga County to dispose of the body and other evidence on the night Lamont was killed and the next night. When he was first brought to the Gloversville Police Department on Oct. 30, he said he continued to fear Duffy, whom he earlier described as a “monster.”
“The way he was then had nothing to do with the man you all experienced in the last few days,” Kakavelos told the jury, referred to testimony by Duffy that ended earlier this week.
“Lies had started two days earlier…I made a decision to protect my children, my wife and myself and maybe others,” Kakavelos testified at another point, explaining his decision to lie to police.
During separate follow-up interviews on Oct. 31, Duffy — who also worked at the sub shop — told police that Kakavelos had paid him to kill the 22-year-old Lamont because she had spoken to state Labor Department investigators about under-the-table pay practices at the restaurant and was a “ringleader” among disgruntled employees. He testified during the trial that Kakavelos directed and was an active participant in the killing and efforts to bury the body and dispose of evidence.
On Oct. 31, Kakavelos refused to answer further police questions about the night Lamont died, saying he had already answered them during the Oct. 30 interview.
“Did they tell you Mr. Duffy had been arrested?” O’Brien asked.
“I wish to God they had told me that,” Kakavelos replied. “It would have been a huge relief to me.”
Kakavelos said Duffy brandished a knife at various points when threatening him. He testified that he followed Duffy’s directions to drive to the southbound Exit 13 entrance ramp to the Northway, and said Duffy dug a grave and buried Lamont alone, while he watched from a ditch at the edge of the road.
“I could see the pure white color of her body was above the hole he had digged, and then I heard some splashing sound and then that monster was jumping up and down on her body, jumping up and down on her body so she would fit lower into the hole,” he testified.
After the body had been buried, Kakavelos testified, “(Duffy) comes out, grabs my face and says, ‘This is my security and insurance so you will never talk of this again.’ He grabbed my glasses and my beanie cap, he took three or four steps, and then comes right back in.”
Police have testified a pair of glasses was found in the wooded area off the Northway where Lamont’s body was found.
Lamont’s body was found by police on Oct. 31, 2019, after Duffy led them to it. But Duffy and Kakavelos were arrested that night and have been in jail since then.
More from The Daily Gazette:
Categories: Fulton Montgomery Schoharie, News, Saratoga County
"direct" - Google News
June 10, 2021 at 11:49PM
https://ift.tt/2SpMFX2
Allyzibeth Lamont murder: Defendant Kakavelos completes direct testimony, set to face cross-examination - The Daily Gazette
"direct" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2zVRL3T
https://ift.tt/2VUOqKG
Direct
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Allyzibeth Lamont murder: Defendant Kakavelos completes direct testimony, set to face cross-examination - The Daily Gazette"
Post a Comment