Macon man cuts deal with prosecutor to avoid death penalty

Court Gavel and Scales
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(KRCG-TV) – A Macon man accused of murdering a 92-year-old Moberly woman with a machete 3 years ago on Easter Sunday will not face the death penalty.

Christopher Lewis, 21, cut a deal with prosecutors by offering guilty pleas to 19 charges in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Lewis’ case was moved to Boone County on a change of venue because of the publicity surrounding the case in Randolph County.

Boone County Judge Kevin Crane sentenced Lewis to life in prison without parole after Lewis pleaded guilty to first degree murder. Lewis admitted he and his partner Jeffrey Nichols murdered Carmalita Kaser with a machete they stole from Moberly’s Walmart Supercenter. Lewis broke down in tears as he also confessed that he and Nichols shot 2 men, beat another woman and stole several cars. The murder victim’s son made a statement in court and said justice was served.

Jerry Kaser said, “My mother was looking forward to going to heaven. I never expected this would be her exit. No one could have written like this, but I’m sure she is happy where she is.”

Prosecutors also agreed to life in prison with parole instead of the death penalty because Lewis was 18-years-old at the time of the murder. The defense asked the courts to make a decision on a recently filed motion regarding Lewis’ ability to make decisions because of his age.

Randolph County Prosecutor Mike Fusselman said, “I think they were preserving a position for the future. I also think the current state of the law is that he will serve life without the possibility of parole.”

Lewis apologized to family members of victims as he left the courtroom. Prosecutors said they agreed to not seek the death penalty for Lewis after consulting with family members of murder victim Carmalita Kaser.

Lewis’ partner Jeffrey Nichols was scheduled to go to trial on May 11.


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Randall Mann

http://www.kttn.com

Randall has been with KTTN/KGOZ for almost 20 years. He is the current Engineer for all of the stations, as well as working "on-air" from 6 to 10, am in the morning. Randall does a bit of everything including producing advertisements as well as writing the occasional news article. Randall is also the current Webmaster for the studio as well as the local graphic artist.

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