An Anchorage jury on Wednesday found Kip Lynch guilty of murdering his young wife and infant daughter in April of 2010, about two months after the Fort Richardson soldier returned home from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan.
Spc. Lynch, 22, sat silently as the judge read the verdict.
Police and prosecutors said he shot his 19-year-old wife Racquell as she clutched their 8-month-old daughter Kyirsta to her body. Lynch fired on his family with a .45-caliber pistol engraved to commemorate his unit's service overseas, police said. He then shot himself in the head, police said, but survived the wound.
Jurors heard testimony that Lynch's time in Afghanistan changed his personality, but blame for the killings should not rest with the Army, said prosecutor Gustaf Olson, who described the shootings as the most dire form of domestic violence.
"This is a case where Mr. Lynch is responsible for his conduct. He lost it that night," Olson said Wednesday after hearing the verdict.
"For any juror that had a family, it hits close to home," the prosecutor said.
The jury convicted Lynch of first-degree murder in Racquell's death, deciding he knowingly and intentionally ended her life. The jurors convicted Lynch of the lesser charge of second-degree murder for killing Kyirsta. That likely means they decided Lynch acted with "extreme indifference" toward the baby but didn't intend to kill her as he shot at his wife, Olson said.
'A SEALED MURDER SCENE'
Police were called to Lynch's South Anchorage apartment the morning of April 26, 2010.
Upstairs, officers found two bodies: Racquell and Kyirsta, nicknamed "Izzy." Kip Lynch was downstairs, bleeding, said a firefighter who testified on the witness stand.
Emergency responders were surprised to find the young father alive despite a gunshot through his head. The bullet severed one of Lynch's optic nerves and he remains blind in his left eye.
Crime scene investigators found no signs that anyone had forced their way into the house, a detective testified. According to a firearms expert, the bullets that killed Racquell and Kyirsta came from Lynch's gun, a pistol he'd just recently bought. It was engraved with his brigade's emblem.
"This was a sealed murder scene," Olson said. "None of the factors pointed to another person being responsible."
Lynch told investigators many of his memories had vanished after the shootings. He remembered some good times with his family, but he didn't remember details from marrying Racquell or any problems the couple had, Lynch told Anchorage Detective Mark Huelskoetter in a recorded interview played in court.
JURORS REJECT DEFENSE
Lynch claimed to have no knowledge of the shootings.
As he recovered from his head wound, he underwent neurological tests conducted by an Army psychologist. He flunked some of the memory tests, and other tests -- specifically designed to examine the validity or truthfulness of a patient's answers -- indicated Lynch might have intentionally answered questions incorrectly, according to testimony by the doctor, Christopher Graver.
Lynch's lawyer, Dan Lowery, argued during the trial that police botched their investigation, which should have shown that another person besides Lynch shot the family.
"Kip didn't shoot his family, and he didn't shoot himself," Lowery said earlier in the trial. "It was someone else who did this."
The defense attorney later presented witnesses, two sisters, who said they heard two men arguing and a woman screaming followed by the sound of gunshots and squealing tires. The testimony contrasted with statements by police, who said evidence showed only the three family members were present at the time of the shootings.
"The police never even bothered to follow up on the sisters' report," Lowery said in an email. "Nobody from (the Anchorage Police Department) ever called or came to talk to them."
In the end, the jurors did not buy Lowery's argument.
After closing arguments and jury instructions Tuesday, the jury deliberated for about two hours before going home. By 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, they had a verdict.
Lynch entered the courtroom wearing a green shirt and green pants and quickly knotted a light-colored tie around his neck. He wore his wedding ring, as he has during each day of the trial.
Terri Lynch, the murder defendant's mother, dabbed at her nose with a tissue, clearly upset. Lynch sat quietly at the table in front of her, his hands folded in a contemplative gesture, his chin resting on a point created by two fingers.
Lynch appeared to get teary just after Superior Court Judge Michael Spaan read the verdict. Olson noted that Lynch's sentencing is set for Sept. 23 and the young man looked pale as court officers led him from the courtroom.
One woman in the gallery took a close look at him. "He's just a kid," she murmured.
Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.