Co-defendant testifies that murder suspect wanted tarp for ‘easy cleanup’

Just a few months after her high school graduation in 2013, Kristen Beuthin helped wipe blood off the walls of a west Houston County home where two men were shot to death.

Beuthin, now 21, also testified Wednesday about going to a Wal-Mart a few hours earlier with accused shooter Tom Kelley to buy a tarp that his friend asked them to buy for “easy cleanup” after a killing.

That friend, 23-year-old Cole Crouch, is on trial in Houston County Superior Court on murder and related charges in the slayings of two California men that authorities say was drug-related.

The tarp allegedly was used to wrap up the bodies of Ruben Miranda, 32, and Shaland McConnell, 30, and haul the bodies in the back of a yellow pickup that Kelley drove and then dump them off a dirt path in Vinson Valley off Ga. 49.

Jurors earlier saw photographs of the bodies on top of each other in the heavily wooded area after a portion of the tarp had been pulled back by a GBI crime-scene specialist.

Beuthin, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence for helping conceal the deaths and clean up the crime scene at the Chadwick Road residence, testified that killing Miranda was a plan devised and orchestrated by Crouch.

Miranda was threatening Crouch because he owed him $15,000.

“The money he owed him, he didn’t want to pay,” Beuthin said. “He wanted to get rid of him.”

But Jeff Grube, one of three attorneys representing Crouch, said Kelley acted independently of Crouch in shooting the men. Kelley is serving a life sentence for the killings plus 10 years for concealing the deaths.

However, Beuthin, who was engaged to marry Kelley in 2013, testified that Crouch asked Kelley to shoot the men from behind as he went upstairs on the pretense of trading a gun to help offset his debt.

Beuthin said she doubts whether Kelley actually shot the men. A ballistics expert earlier Wednesday identified Kelley’s gun as the weapon used to kill the men.

Beuthin said she changed her mind and did not want to be involved with the killing and didn’t want Kelley involved either. She said she argued with Crouch about it after she and Kelley returned with the tarp.

“(Crouch) almost snarled,” Beuthin recalled. She said Crouch told her, “This has to be the day.”

However, the plan was supposed to be nixed if Miranda brought anyone along with him. She said the decision to kill both men must have been “spur of the moment.”

Crouch had also enlisted another friend, Justice Evans, to help. He is serving 10 years in prison for helping conceal the deaths and clean up the crime scene.

Amy Patricia Walker, who was Evans’ girlfriend in 2013, also testified about helping clean up the crime scene and flushing shell casings down the toilet.

The women both testified they were outside the Chadwick Road residence talking when Crouch and Kelley went to get Miranda, who brought McConnell along with him, and that they stayed outside when the four men arrived and went inside. Evans already was inside.

Both women heard the shots fired and said they panicked. They both said Crouch had told them earlier to stay outside. Walker said after the shots were fired that Kelley wouldn’t let her go inside. Beuthin said she told Walker not to go inside after she saw Miranda’s body when she looked inside the residence.

Beuthin said awhile later that Crouch told them, “Hey, we’re done ... You can come inside.”

The men left the residence, and Walker saw something being hauled away in the back of Kelley’s truck. Beuthin said Evans and Crouch rode away together in a separate vehicle.

Beuthin also testified that she drove Walker to Kroger to get bleach. Walker said Beuthin stayed in the car as she bought the bleach.

While the men were gone, the women cleaned the home.

In questioning the women, Grube noted they had everything to gain. The murder charges against Beuthin were dismissed as part of her plea agreement, he noted.

Walker, who was only charged with two counts of concealing the deaths and one count of tampering with evidence, has agreed to plead guilty later this month to those charges as part of her plea agreement. She faces one to five years in prison plus 10 years of probation under the agreement.

Testimony is expected to continue Thursday.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Co-defendant testifies that murder suspect wanted tarp for ‘easy cleanup’."