Watching Jevin Kitchen testify today was heartbreaking; at one point even Marci Kitchen dabbed away tears

(Kiya Kitchen, Faith Tsarnas, and Marci Kitchen; a picture given to use only on my blog by a family member)

It was heartbreaking to watch Jevin Kitchen testify. I have covered many cases, including several homicides, but this is the first time, it was very hard for me to sit in court. I came close to tears listening to Jevin Kitchen testify in court today.


The only time I saw some real emotion from Marci Kitchen, so far, was her give a slight smile as Jevin Kitchen walked up to the witness stand, a slight smile when he talked about Kiya teaching him to skateboard, and Marci Kitchen dabbing her eyes at one point very early in his testimony when he shared memories about Kiya Kitchen, his younger sister.

Jevin Kitchen described his sister as a "very social person" who "enjoyed not being at home."

"We and her would often go longboard. She was actually the person who taught me to longboard. We would go to Eel River because it was recently paved so it was very smooth. "  He said sometimes they went down the slope on Drake Hill Road but since he was a beginner, that slope was steep and harder for him.

"Sometimes when it was dark, we would tell her not to go out, because people are crazy."