Story originally printed in the Vernon Broadcaster or online at www.vernonbroadcaster.com
Published - Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Not guilty plea entered for Heisz regarding Kuykendall's death
VIROQUA--A Gays Mills man had a plea of not guilty entered for him, Monday, for his alleged role in the death of a Beloit man at a tavern in Readstown, Feb. 7.
David A. Heisz, 26, stood mute when asked to enter a plea on the sole count facing him, first degree reckless homicide, for the death of Kelly Kuykendall, 50. Vernon County Circuit Court Judge Michael Rosborough entered a plea of not guilty for Heisz and then scheduled a status conference for a possible trial in the case for June 30.
The preliminary hearing for Heisz included the testimony of three witnesses who saw parts of an altercation between Heisz, his cousin Mikeal E. Heisz, 28, also of Gays Mills, and Kuykendall during the early morning hours at Pat's Corner Bar in Readstown.
If the statement of the witnesses showed anything, it was that the prosecution has no single witness who saw the entire incident.
Brad Alexander of Readstown testified that he saw David Heisz give Kuykendall a "forceful" push sending Kuykendall off the bar's front step, which would have sent Kuykendall's body down about five stairs an onto a concrete sidewalk. Jeff Vandenbergh of Bloom City said he saw David Heisz outside the bar standing over Kuykendall and making punching motions, but added that he couldn't tell if Heisz was actually landing blows. Jesse Nash testified he saw David Heisz throw up to seven punches at Kuykendall while Kuykendall was lying on the sidewalk.
Pathologist Dr. Robert Huntington III of the state crime lab testified via a telephone conference call that an autopsy he performed on Kuykendall found a magnitude of injuries that would be associated with an automobile accident. Huntington said the injuries Kuykendall suffered, including facial bruises and cuts, a skull fracture, a subdural hematoma to the brain, seven broken ribs -- four of which were broken in two places -- and a liver injury, were all the cause of blunt force trauma, which Huntington said was the cause of death.
David Heisz's attorney Peder Arneson asked Huntington if the injuries would be consistent with someone of Heisz's size, about 250 pounds, falling down on top of Kuykendall, who weighed 140 pounds.
"Yes, if the fall were out of a second-story window," Huntington said.
Huntington said that each grouping of Kuykendall's wounds were to such a degree that any of them could possibly have led to his death.
While David Heisz had a not guilty plea entered for him; Mikeal Heisz also had a preliminary hearing in his case of misdemeanor battery stemming from the same incident on Monday. Mikeal Heisz pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Both David and Mikeal Heisz are free on bail pending the outcome of their court cases.
More on this story will appear in the April 3 edition of the Vernon County Broadcaster.
All stories copyright 2006 Vernon Broadcaster and other attributed sources.