Kathy Taft murder case and murder trial of Jason Williford

Trial of Kathy Taft's accused killer continued until Tuesday
Testimony in the trial of Jason Williford, accused of killing state school board member Kathy Taft, was continued until Tuesday because of a child care issue involving one of the jurors.
Updated 10:43 a.m. yesterday | Read Story | 18 comments
DNA in Kathy Taft's bed matched accused killer's
A DNA swab taken from the bed sheet that state school board member Kathy Taft had been sleeping on when she was attacked two years ago matched her accused killer, Jason Williford, DNA analysts told jurors Friday.
Updated 10:23 a.m. yesterday | Read Story | 22 comments
Wife of accused killer in school board slaying files for divorce
The wife of Jason Williford, on trial for raping and fatally beating a longtime member of the North Carolina State Board of Education two years ago has filed for divorce.
Updated May 18 | Read Story | 7 comments

Kathy Arnold Taft, 62, a longtime member of the North Carolina State Board of Education, was raped and brutally beaten March 6, 2010, while recovering from surgery at a friend's home in Raleigh. She died three days later.

The suspect: Jason Williford

Jason Keith Williford was an out-of-work amateur musician who lived less than a quarter-mile from where Kathy Taft was attacked. In April 2010, police charged him with first-degree rape and first-degree murder after linking him to the crime using DNA from a discarded cigarette butt.

The capital murder case

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty should Williford be found guilty of Taft’s murder. Defense attorneys admit Williford attacked Taft but say he was incapable of forming the necessary mental intent that is needed for a first-degree murder conviction, because he suffers from a variety of mental disorders and illnesses.

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The wife of Jason Williford, on trial for raping and fatally beating Kathy Taft two years ago has filed for divorce.
Jurors in the murder trial of Jason Williford heard testimony about Kathy Taft's injuries, and so did her family.
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A Superior Court judge has moved the first-degree murder trial of the man accused of killing state school board member Kathy Taft…
Lawyers for Jason Keith Williford want more time to prepare for his trial in the 2010 murder of Kathy Taft.
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Attorneys presented opening statements Wednesday in the first-degree murder trial of Jason Williford, a Raleigh man accused of…
Jury selection in the capital murder trial of Jason Williford, accused of killing state school board member Kathy Taft in 2010,…
Jury selection begins Monday for the trial of a Raleigh man accused of killing state school board member Kathy Taft two years ago.
Raleigh police used a discarded cigarette butt to link a Raleigh man to DNA from the scene of an attack on a State Board of Education…
Jason Keith Williford, 30, of 2812-D Wayland Drive, was arrested Friday at a campground at Lake Jordan, police spokesman Jim Sughrue…
A suspect in the slaying of State Board of Education member Kathy Taft will make his first court appearance Monday.