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Lafferty's children testify, request bond be set at arraignment
BLOOMFIELD -- Donald Lafferty made his first court appearance on Monday since being extradited from Massachusetts over the weekend.
Lafferty is accused of paying a Dexter couple to burn his rural Bloomfield home and kill his wife.
He was arrested at 11:20 p.m. Monday in North Andover, Mass., and charged with the Class B felony of attempted murder, the unclassified felony of armed criminal action, the Class B felony of first-degree arson, and the Class A felony of financial exploitation of the elderly ($50,000 or more.)
He appeared Monday for arraignment before Judge Joe Satterfield. Before an audience of only his two children, Jeff Lafferty and Karen Lafferty, he pled not guilty on all charges.
The case was set for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, June 19.
Lafferty appeared alongside his attorney, Dan Moore. Moore noted that Lafferty contacted him on Monday about his defense, before the arrest.
He added that Lafferty was arrested before he was able to organize his formal surrender.
During the arraignment, Moore requested that the court hear arguments regarding the motion to compel bond filed earlier in the day. Moore argued that he wanted Lafferty's children to testify in the hearing, and given that they reside in Massachusetts and Virginia, it would be sensible to allow them to go ahead and do so.
Both Judge Joe Satterfield and Prosecuting Attorney Russell Oliver agreed to move forward with the hearing.
Lafferty's daughter, Karen Lafferty, of North Andover, Mass., was the first to testify.
She stated Lafferty had been living in her Queche, Vt., condominium since October 2013 and has a pair of long-term health issues which could place him at risk inside the jail.
She said her father has Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure. Until recently, the blood pressure was regulated with five medications.
In April, doctors in Boston implanted a renal stint to lower his blood pressure, and he has since been able to drop two medications.
"The understanding was that the doctors would monitor him closely and make adjustments as needed," she testified.
When asked if she would be willing to take full legal responsibility were he released, his daughter responded, "absolutely."
On cross-examination, Oliver questioned her about the circumstances under which she learned of the accusations against her father.
"That was horrifying for me to read--I imagine it was for him as well," she testified.
When he first learned of the charges and outstanding warrant, she asked him to come to her home because he was very upset, she explained.
"He was feeling sick," she said, noting that she had sent him to lay down. "I was very worried about his health."
While she had not discussed it with her father, she testified she was planning to turn him in to the local authorities in Massachusetts early Tuesday morning.
Oliver asked of her own and of her father's reactions when they learned of the arrests of Christopher and Brandy Hicks.
"We all felt relieved to learn it wasn't Mildred Lafferty who set the fire," she said of her former stepmother. (The senior Laffertys were divorced in October 2013). "I didn't talk to my dad much that day. I regret that."
She testified that Lafferty stated he knew the two individuals who were arrested from his church and that his church had taken donations for them in the past.
As she shared his story of what he was doing at the time of the Jan. 2013 fire, Judge Satterfield interrupted the proceedings, informing them both that they were not to be communicating.
Satterfield said Lafferty was shaking his head "no" while his daughter was answering the questions, as if to give her prompts as to how to answer.
She reiterated that the family had all along suspected his wife, Mildred Lafferty, of having set the fire, citing her "suspicious behavior" around the time of the fire.
She also questioned whether children living near the home could have set the fire.
At the conclusion of her testimony, her brother, Jeffrey Lafferty, was called to the stand.
He also stated his willingness to take his father in and accepted such responsibility--should the court choose to allow bond.
The Lafferty son stated he has lived in Virginia his entire life, but feels his father would be better off with his sister so that he could be near his physicians.
While he said he had only spoken to his father a limited amount about his relationship with the Hicks couple, he viewed them as people his father was trying to help.
"I'm sure he was trying to save their souls," he said. "I think the fire was vindictiveness over the fact that the charity had stopped."
He stated that his father had arrived in Virginia to visit him on May 9, and at that time had learned of the questioning of the Hicks couple back in Missouri.
Throughout the evening of May 9, Lafferty received phone calls during which no one was speaking.
Oliver asked if he would be surprised to learn that Donald Lafferty had spoken to Brandy Hicks that very night. He also questioned if the son would be surprised to learn that Hicks had two vehicles with Lafferty's name on the title and her as "to on death."
After the testimony concluded, Moore noted Lafferty's "impeccable record" and the fact that family members are willing to guarantee that he will be available for court.
Because the motion was filed the day of the hearing, Oliver requested additional time to be able to present his own witnesses. Satterfield allowed Oliver's request.
The prosecution will be able to offer their own testimony on Wednesday, May 28. The preliminary hearing remains scheduled for June 19 at 2 p.m.