[July 29, 2011] 1982 homicide case against man on hold Tweet Jul 29, 2011 (Messenger-Inquirer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The murder case against James Ray Cable in Daviess Circuit Court is on hold, likely for at least another year, while Cable's death penalty case in Louisville moves slowly toward trial. Cable, who is now 63, was charged in 2004 with the June 8, 1982 death of Owensboro resident Sandra Gail Kellems, who was killed on her 18th birthday. Kellems was last seen walking on her way to meet some friends at a business on Triplett Street; Kellems' body was found the next day in a vacant lot at 12th and Sweeney streets -- she had been severely beaten, sexually assaulted and struck in the back of a head. Cable was implicated two decades later, after a tip eventually led investigators to Cable and a DNA sample allegedly connected Cable to evidence found at Kellems' crime scene. A hearing was held Thursday morning in Daviess Circuit Court for attorneys and special Judge Tom Castlen to review the Daviess County case. Because Kellems is facing the death penalty in Louisville for two homicides that occurred in 1986 and 1989, the attorneys in the Daviess County case have elected to wait until Cable's Louisville trial is finished before moving on the Owensboro murder charge. DNA evidence also allegedly connected Cable to the 1986 and 1989 killings in Louisville. Cable is currently serving a sentence of life plus 300 years with no possibility of parole for a 1990 conviction in Hart County, where Cable was found guilty of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. In the 1990 case, an accomplice, Phillip Clopton, left a diary that indicated Cable and Clopton had abducted and killed other young women. Clopton was killed by the 15-year-old, who managed to escape while Cable was not at the scene. Cable's history of criminal convictions goes back to 1971, when a Daviess County jury found him guilty of raping a juvenile under the age of 12. Cable was also charged with escape in 1972 and manslaughter in 1977. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Ken Nall told Castlen the Louisville case against Cable is moving slowly forward. "This past Monday, the judge ... issued an order finding Mr. Cable competent to stand trial" after a competency hearing that lasted several days, Nall said. Nall, who has been consulting with prosecutors in Louisville, told Castlen the competency ruling will likely be followed by defense motions arguing Cable is ineligible for the death penalty. "They tell me ... because Mr. Cable's IQ is 70, and it's a death penalty case, the next step is to be defense filing motions to claim (Cable) is unable to be executed because of the Supreme Court ruling," Nall said. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, ruled the execution of people deemed "mentally retarded" was "cruel and unusual punishment." Nall asked the case be set for another review next July. Defense attorney Heather Blackburn -- who was standing in for Cable's public defender, David Farley --agreed setting a review for next summer was appropriate, considering the time it would take for the Louisville case against Cable to go to trial. "I think we're in for a long wait, given that it's a death penalty case in Louisville," Blackburn said. After the hearing, Nall said a hearing on Cable's case could be held sooner than next summer, if events in Louisville move quicker than anticipated. But Nall said since the Daviess County case is not a death penalty case, they cannot impose a more serious sentence on Cable than what he is already serving. "Mr. Cable is doing a life sentence plus 300 years, so he's not going anywhere," Nall said. The Daviess County case will eventually go forward, Nall said. "The victim and the victim's family obviously deserve their day in court," Nall said. To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.messenger-inquirer.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]