Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Fellow students sometimes mistake him for a professorhe shaves his head bald and almost always wears a button-down shirt and a tie along with his university lanyard. Their time together, however,would be cut short. His body is surrounded by blood. He went to the business and eventually back home, and found his dad dead. Prosecutors said the motive was financial, as the Boyds wanted to receive Kevin Sr.'s life insurance policy payout. His body is surrounded by blood. Kevin Jr., on the other hand was struggling. Before the Supreme Court made its ruling on the matter in 2012, about 61 percent of teens sentenced to life without parole were black. This was just a few months before Kevin Sr., would be killed. Got your books and all that? Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do. As a 2012 Supreme Court ruling vacated the LWOP sentences of juvenile offenders, Kevin Boyd Jr. was resentenced to 25-60 years behind bars in 2019, making him immediately eligible for parole. . Kevin Boyd, Jr. 2020/I Courtside . How did that happen? What was the motive you ask? I fully admit that. Oakland County prosecutor Jessica Cooper says a dysfunctional childhood is no excuse for committing murder and notes that many teens have terrible upbringings but dont resort to crime. But in April 2017, he was paroled thanks to a series of Supreme Court decisions arguing that because their brains were not fully developed at the time of their crimes, kids should face more lenient sentences than adult perpetrators. Their presence angered a local dealer, who had threatened to shoot their leader. You know Im seeing life, all life, Im just seeing everything. Detectives subsequently retrieved one of Kevin Sr.s guns, which his son had asked an associate to dispose of for him. Lynn Boyd and Kevin Boyd Jr. were tried separately for the murder of Kevin Boyd Sr. in 1996. Kevin had many stab wounds to various parts of his body, and obvious blunt force trauma injuries. Kevin Jr. said he and his mother had plotted the murder together and waited outside his fathers apartment building until they thought he had fallen asleep. Hell have to wait a year to reapply. He had the opportunity to warn his father and later tried to cover up his involvement in the crime. As Boyd waits for a decision in his case, he tries to keep himself calm by lifting weights and jogging, which he liked to do as a kid. There was black paint found in his skull from the type of weapon used to kill him, the police believed it could have been a baseball bat. They married in 1975, and their son, Kevin Jr., was born in 1977. We are headed north to Lake Orion, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Now its happening. There was a paint transfer from an object that was used to hit him in the head, where they hit him so hard, they split his skin open and there was black paint that was found embedded in his skull, Bilkovic told producers. Yet, he maintained that he was not at the scene when it transpired. Copyright 2023 Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress. Kevin Sr. is positioned on his stomach on the floor with a pillow over the back of his head. With Baileys help, Espree enrolled as a justice studies major at Arizona State and applied for financial aid. View the profiles of people named Kevin Boyd Jr. Join Facebook to connect with Kevin Boyd Jr. and others you may know. His parents eventually decided he might do better living with his father. It's very difficult to review this case, as there, The FBi has been murdering people for years since their, Clearly its hard for some people to understand that although, What is taking so long? Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Kevin Boyd distracts himself these days by running 10Ks around the track. But at the same time, I dont know where you say that theres been enough retribution, because a human being is dead. The police had received a call from the person who sold it, and they found it in a backyard of a house in Flint. On August 6, 1994, a man was discovered on his apartment floor. Espree thinks often of Emanuel Billups, the man he killed, and of his family members. Later he launched music therapy and mentorship programs for younger inmates. After his first semester, he had a 3.29 GPA. Don was interviewed in this episode. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. His lawyers countered that he hadnt been given much of a chance: For his first three decades at Louisianas notorious Angola prison, lifers like him were prohibited from taking classes. Today shes the local prosecutor. Looking for Kevin Boyd online? Of the roughly 2,800 juvenile lifers serving time in 2016, only about 400 have been freed. Imagine going from a setting like that and then back into society.. We'd love to get to know you better! The police could also determine that the knife that was used could have been a five inch knife. 16-year-old Kevin Boyd Jr. want it all. Parental Predators are the worst!If you like our shows and have some loose pennies in your pocket, please consider making a tax deductible donation to our show. Kevin Sr.s wallet still contained cash and his credit cards, ruling out the possibility of a robbery. Kevin Boyd Jr., now 43, was released on parole in January 2020, The Oakland Press reported at the time. Nearly a year after leaving prison, he still struggles to fall asleep most nights. Antonio Espree(R) shares a one bedroom apartment with his cousin, tenured Professor Marlon Bailey, (L) In Phoenix, Arizona. I dont believe Kevin should be out of prison. His mom confessed and was sentenced to life without parole; so was Boyd. Kevin Jr. ran from the apartment, desperate to get some help. When Espree was 16, he fatally shot an innocent bystander during a drug turf war near Detroit. They both turned on each other at their trials, and they both blamed Julie as well. His lawyers countered that he hadn't been given much of a. An Exclusive First Look At The Case Of Lynn Boyd, Jury Took Days To Deliberate In Lynn Boyds Trial, He was a little redhead with freckles. Back at the apartment, before bed, Espree goes to the roof again. In the winters, he and his friends would play in the snow; during summers it was tackle football, or theyd build go-karts out of wood and race them down the streets. In the early 1970s, Kevin met a woman named Lynn, whose quiet demeanor contrasted with his gregariousness. Afterward, he and Bailey drive to a restaurant called NYPD Pizza. Julie Grain basically said that she had lied and that Lynn had in fact left her house the night of the murder and was gone for several hours, between approximately 10 at night to 3 in the morning, Bilkovic told Snapped.. The man had fought furiously to escape his killer, as demonstrated by all the injuries on h. In Michigan, prosecutors have applied that definition to nearly two-thirds of its juvenile lifers about 235 inmates according to Deb LaBelle, a lawyer who is among many who believe that flouts the high courts ruling. Lynn and Kevin Jr. were incarcerated pending trial. So Espree feels pressure to prove that people like him can make the most of a second chance. Hegave Lynn the house and moved into an apartment. Hes one of the lucky ones. Their bedroom has little space for anything but their mattresses, so Espree slips quietly out and heads up to the roof to watch the sunrise. They both said Kevin was there the whole night and left early the next morning. They separated in 1988. Rather than teaching him right from wrong, shes enrolling him in a murder scheme. Under Michigan law, aiding and abetting a killing, such as providing keys, can result in a murder conviction. Left: Espree in his Northwest Drill Team uniform, 1982; Right: Espree with his family, 1983. He grew up in Berkley, Michigan, but moved to Lake Orion, which was a small town nearby. said Paul Walton, an assistant Oakland County prosecutor, Kwaneta Harris from Garland, Texas, murdered her boyfriend, Donald Spice murdered his girlfriend Lori Marie Vargis. At one point, she also persuaded her current boyfriend to cover himself in bandages and pretend to be an injured Giles. He earned a high school equivalency diploma, completed vocational programs, worked as a painter, a tutor and sanitation worker and hasnt had a misconduct violation in 15 years. In August 1994, Boyd was 16 when, according to prosecutors, he and his mother, Lynn, hatched and carried out a plot to kill his father, Kevin Sr, who was stabbed more than 20 times and beaten with a baseball bat. Your support means the world to us! 2021 Snapped (TV Series documentary) Kevin Boyd, Jr. - Lynn Boyd (2021) . Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. In what turned into a very bizarre case, Harris then stole Giless identity. The man was Kevin Boyd, and his body was discovered by his son, Kevin, Jr. What the 16-year-old would encounter would be the absolute worst scenario. When his mother and her girlfriend found out, they told Boyd they wanted revenge and asked for the keys to his dads apartment. His mom, Lynn Boyd, agreed - she wanted what Kevin Sr. had, too. Boyd maintains he wasnt at the crime scene, but he knew his mothers plans, told her when his father would be sleeping in a chair and gave her keys to get into his apartment. He said Lynn was destroying the business that Kevin built, and was stealing money from the safe. Kevin Sr. is positioned on his stomach on the floor with a pillow over the back of his head. The T-shirt belonged to KevinJr. and the knife matched the wounds on his fathers body,the Associated Pressreported at the time. Since the murder, their relationship had deteriorated and Grain now worried she would be implicated in Kevin Sr.s murder. Join Jen and Cam on this episode of 'Our True Crime Podcast' entitled Smotherly Love: Kevin Boyd.We are going to the True Crime Podcast Festival in Dallas this year. Lynn hit him over and over with the bat, and then he went crazy with the knife. They married in 1975, and their son, Kevin Jr., was born in 1977. He couldnt help but think about his own future. The next morning he came home and discovered the body. Kevin Boyd, 24, of Cleveland, died in the shooting, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's office. The apartment had been ransacked and several items were missing, but there were no signs of a break-in. The rulings, which took place between 2010 and 2016, have banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for teenagers, giving thousands of juvenile lifers around the country a shot at release. Smotherly Love: Kevin Boyd Tuesday, March 22, 2022 157. Bailey, a tenured professor, helped him enroll at Arizona State University and let him share his bedroom and even some of his clothes. Join us as we wend our way through the Supreme Court cases addressing sentencing reform for juvenile offenders. They were both found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole, according to court documents. Cousins Antonio Espree and Marlon Bailey grew up on the west side of Detroit. Kevin Jr. ran from the apartment, desperate to get some help. The detective asked him what type of person would do this to somebody like your father and he just put his head down and said, Youre looking at him,'" Bilkovic told producers. Later, we stop by a nearby convenience store, where he buys a lottery ticket. In a place where everyone knows everyone, when Kevin Boyd Sr., a successful local business owner, is killed inside his own home, rumors surrounding his life gain traction. Snapped Kevin Boyd, Jr. . Kevin Boyd. Our listener discretion is by the smooth-talking Edward October of @octoberpodVHS. Those people are incredibly rare and unusual, says Marsha Levick, deputy director of the Juvenile Law Centre, a non-profit that advocates for youth offenders. Hell buy his cousin a new car, launch a nonprofit for at-risk youths, pay rent for Finleyso she can get her own placeand send his attorney on a trip around the world. He told her when his father would be sleeping in a chair and gave her the keys to the apartment. You start thinking, What am I going to do with my life? And you dont know.. New episodes of Diabolical air from 9/8c on Investigation Discovery. No matter what Kevins role in the death of his father, he was acting at the behest of his mother, his lawyer David OBrien argued last year after Cooper asked a court to resentence him to prison for life. Now 40, Boyd is one of the juvenile lifers Michigan prosecutors say should never walk free again. Their bedroom has little space for anything but their mattresses which are about an arms distance apart. Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. His apartment showed no signs of a break-in, but it did look like someone had gone through the apartment. Boyds confession in which he said he was there and participated in the killing followed a six-hour interrogation during which investigators made false promises of leniency and Boyd provided inaccurate details of the crime, the lawyer adds. In 1994, at Lake Orion in Michigan, Kevin Boyd Sr. was savagely murdered in his home. Mother and son were tried separately, but both were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In the kitchen later, after he pours himself a bowl of cereal, his phone rings. If you want to look at culpability, it was his mother who recruited him, OBrien says. She said that on the night of the murder she had been home watching movies with her girlfriend, Julie Grain, whoconfirmed Lynn's alibi. On August 6, 1994, a man was discovered on his apartment floor. Their cases wont be argued until the Michigan Supreme Court decides whether judges or juries will hear them. I really wanted to learn to think for myself, he says. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. They had hoped to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy. The man was Kevin Boyd, and his body was discovered by his son, Kevin, Jr. What the 16-year-old would encounter would be the absolute worst scenario. In Nov. 1994, though, a break in the case came whenGrain contacted detectives and said she wanted to recant her initial statement to police. While he was initially defiant, he finally confessed after being presented with the gun he had stolen from his father at the time of the murder. He keeps a copy of the affidavits they signed in support of his parole. Kevin Jr. ran from the apartment, desperate to get some help. He had the personality to match, sister Lynette Heide told Snapped, airing Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen. Investigation Discoverys Diabolical: Sins of a Mother is an episode that explores a small-town murder in Michigan that ended up rocking the entire state. The first person the police wanted to question was Kevin Jr., They asked him where he was at the time of the murder. When the courses opened up, he was deemed ineligible to complete his GED. She said Lynn left at 11pm on the night of the murder, and met Kevin Jr., at a Burger King. I watched the latest episode of Snapped on Oxygen for this case, its season 28 episode 22. Its like I cant miss it. Theres dramatic inconsistency in how states have treated their cases. He was in disbelief, says Meagan Dreher, a paralegal who had come to meet him. When the Supreme Court began ruling on juvenile sentencing in the mid-2000s, he studied transcripts of the arguments. The police believed that two people were involved, because Kevin had very few defensive wounds. Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. The blood spatter on the wall let him know it was no accident. On the morning of his 47th birthday, his first outside prison in three decades, Antonio Espree wakes up around 5 a.m. Its a cool February day in Phoenix, still dark outside, and his cousin Marlon Bailey is asleep on a bed about an arms reach away. Kwaneta Harris murdered her boyfriend, Michael Giles, and buried him in the backyard. Join Jen and Cam on this episode of 'Our True Crime Podcast' entitled Smotherly Love: Kevin Boyd. The blood spatter on the wall let him know it was no accident. For more on this case and others like it, watch "Snapped" airing on Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen or stream episodes any time at Oxygen.com. Under Michigan law, aiding and abetting a killing, such as providing keys, can result in a murder conviction. The incident happened about 6:20 p.m. Friday at the One-Stop Liquor Store in the . spoke to Kevin Jrs girlfriend, who admitted that on the night of the murder she had driven with him to a Burger King where he had met with his mother, according to court documents. When she met with detectives, she claimed the murder was done at the behest of her girlfriend, Grain. He had even attempted suicide after his parents divorced. One Tuesday night in 1987, a couple of days before New Years Eve, Espree, then a 16-year-old high school dropout, was hanging out with some older friends from a gang called Pony Down. But while Kevins work life prospered, his home life was falling apart. Theyre not looking at how he got there or what hes done since. Boyds life was troubled from the start. Lynn was charged and arrested for her ex-husbands slaying in December, but because the police believed that she did not act alone, they also took Kevin Jr. into custody, who eventually confessed.