Jurors to resume deciding sentence for Megan's killer

Timmendequas: 'I am sorry for what I've done'

In this story:

'He showed no mercy. He deserves none'
'We ... feel that we have failed her'

June 19, 1997
Web posted at: 8:11 p.m. EDT (0011 GMT)

TRENTON, New Jersey (CNN) -- A jury will resume its deliberations Friday morning to decide whether convicted murderer Jesse Timmendequas should be sentenced to death for the murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka.

The 36-year-old Timmendequas was convicted May 30 for the kidnapping, rape and murder in July 1994 that led to "Megan's Law," which requires that communities be notified when a convicted sex offender moves into the neighborhood.

The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours Thursday after hearing closing arguments in which a prosecutor said the only "just verdict" is the death penalty.

"There is but one verdict in this case," prosecutor Kathryn Flicker said in the trial's penalty phase. "That verdict is death."

If jurors cannot reach a unanimous decision, Timmendequas, a twice-convicted sex offender, could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Flicker said Timmendequas lured Megan to his house across the street from hers on July 29, 1994. After raping and beating the child, he killed her in an attempt to avoid going back to jail, the prosecutor said.

"Megan had become a walking, talking piece of evidence," Flicker said. "She knew him. She could identify him. He knew it, and he had to get rid of that threat. And so he killed."

'He showed no mercy. He deserves none'

"He showed no pity. He showed no compassion. He showed no mercy. He deserves none for what he chose to do," Flicker said.

Jurors filed grimly out of the courtroom after the 90-minute closing argument. Judge Andrew Smithson gave jurors their instructions about 30 minutes later.

The defense on Wednesday argued for a life sentence, saying Timmendequas was sexually and physically abused as a child and suffered from mental problems. Timmendequas briefly appeared on the stand and asked jurors to spare his life.

"I am sorry for what I've done to Megan," he said in a brief statement. "I pray for her and her family every day. I have to live with this for the rest of my life ... I ask you to let me live so I, some day, can understand why something like this could happen."

Timmendequas was allowed to address the jury during the penalty phase only to express remorse and plead for his life, as allowed by law. He was not permitted to declare his innocence, nor question any of the evidence. He did not testify during his trial.

'We ... feel that we have failed her'

Megan's father, Richard Kanka, also delivered a "victim impact statement" to the jury.

"Keeping an eye out on that future boyfriend, driving her on her first date, watching her prepare for her first prom," said Kanka, as his wife listened with her head in her hands, "walking her down the aisle on her wedding day ... these are things I will never be able to do with Megan.

"We do not know what the future holds for our family now," he said. "It has been almost three years since Megan's death, and time has stood still for our family. It feels as raw as if it had happened yesterday. We want life back and don't know it can ever be again."

He went on: "Sometimes we don't know if we will ... withstand the pain as a family or if we will be a family in the future. We had a responsibility as parents to protect her from harm and feel that we have failed her."

In her closing argument, Flicker said a bad childhood did not justify Timmendequas' actions. "Definitely his father and mother are not candidates for parents of the year."

"Where does individual responsibility fit into the whole scheme?" Flicker asked. "He was responsible as an adult, as we all are."

The case prompted all 50 states to require that a paroled child molester register with the state. Forty-five states have some form of community notification, and a federal version of "Megan's Law" was signed in 1996.

Message Board: Megan Kanka murder

Related sites:

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Asbury Park Press online
- The Megan Kanka murder trial
New Jersey Law Network
- "Megan's Law"
Child Sexual Abuse - - links to sevices, agencies, directories for services, legal info, statistics, book reviews and mailing lists

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