Kathy Taft murder case and murder trial of Jason Williford

Wake DA rejected plea deal in Taft murder case
A defense attorney for a Raleigh man convicted of killing state school board member Kathy Taft says his client's capital murder trial was unnecessary because Wake County's district attorney rejected a plea deal that would have put him in prison for the rest of his life.
Updated July 25, 2012 | Read Story | 62 comments
Parents of Kathy Taft's killer might have saved his life
Five weeks after they sent Jason Williford to prison for life for the March 2010 rape and beating death of state school board member Kathy Taft, three jurors say their decision might have been different if it weren't for his family.
Updated July 12, 2012 | Read Story | 31 comments
Web-only: Jason Williford jurors interview
Three jurors in the murder trial of Jason Williford - Ann T., Nicole Donahue and Derrick Atwood - speak on July 12, 2012, publicly for the first time about why they found Williford guilty of state school board member Kathy Taft's murder and why they decided he should be spared the death penalty.
Posted July 12, 2012 | Video

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 unsuccessfully sought the death penalty against Williford, who was found guilty of first-degree murder on June 1, 2012. He will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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WRAL News provides an in-depth look at the Kathy Taft murder case and some of the legal and mental issues surrounding the trial of…
The Wake County jury that sent Jason Williford to prison for the rest of his life for the murder two years ago of state school board…
A Wake County jury deliberated for more than five hours before recommending a life prison sentence Thursday for Jason Williford in…
Kathy Taft's oldest son, Thomas Taft, speaks about the loss of his mother on June 7, 2012, after his mother's killer, Jason…
Kathy Taft's youngest son, Jonathan Taft, speaks about the loss of his mother on June 7, 2012, after his mother's killer, Jason…
Attorneys will present final arguments Wednesday morning in the sentencing phase of Jason Williford's murder trial before jurors…
Death penalty opponents say they aren't surprised Jason Williford was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the death of…
Kathy Taft's oldest daughter, Jessica Gorall, speaks about the loss of her mother on June 7, 2012, after her mother's killer, Jason…
Kathy Taft's daughter, Paige Fuqua, speaks about the loss of her mother on June 7, 2012, after her mother's killer, Jason Williford,…
Defense attorneys called family members and friends of Jason Williford to testify on his behalf Monday in an effort to keep him off…
Jason Williford was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2010 rape and beating death of North Carolina state school board…
Thomas Taft reacts to the first-degree murder conviction of his mother's killer, Jason Williford, on June 1, 2012.