Closing Arguments Next in Kaiser Trial

Closing arguments are set for this afternoon in the concealment of homicidal death trial of Aaron Kaiser.

The Beecher City man is charged with assisting Christopher Glass of Mason in disposing of the body of Kimberly Mattingly after she was shot, allegedly by Glass, and of giving false information to or withholding information from authorities investigating Mattingly's death.

(AARON KAISER)

Kaiser took the stand in his own defense Wednesday morning. Kaiser said he was fearful for his life and those of his children, and that Glass made threats against both. Kaiser said there is a group known as The Outlaws, whom he termed a "biker gang", who he Glass could utilize to get things done, even if Glass was in jail.

Kaiser's relationship with Glass goes back more than a decade. Kaiser said his ex-wife cheated on him with Glass. He said Glass beat the woman. After 10 years or so went by, Kaiser showed up at a mutual friend's house and Glass was there. The friend de-escalated a tense situation when the two encountered one another. Kaiser said Glass pulled a gun on him at the time.

As for the day of the shooting, Glass, who Kaiser said showed up there periodically to use meth, was present when Mattingly and another woman, whom Kaiser said is described as Glass' "caretaker" showed up. Mattingly earlier was described as Glass' girlfriend, but Kaiser said Glass had plenty of "girlfriends, guns, drugs, whatever he wants."

He said whatever actions he took was because he was afraid of Glass, but also indicated he was afraid of getting into trouble. During cross-examination by State's Attorney Bryan Kibler, Kaiser acknowledged that the only gun he knew Glass had the day of the shooting was, he believed, was in Kaiser's car following the shooting and that the last time they went to the scene where Mattingly had been left for dead, Glass would not have had the gun. Kaiser testified that Mattingly was still alive at that point and that he watched Glass kill her, provide a shovel, and helped with a tarp to move the body to a burn pit where Glass put several shovelsful of dirt on Mattingly's body.

Kaiser also acknowledged he was less than truthful when Sheriff's Sergeant Travis Buhnerkempe and two other officers visited his residence several days after the shooting and during interviews by Illinois State Police a couple of weeks after that.

The case should go to the jury this afternoon. 

Glass is due to be tried for Mattingly's murder in September.