ST. LOUIS – It could be a critical day in court in the ongoing Richard Emery murder trial in St. Charles.
Emery is accused of killing four people from the same family, including two young children, back in 2018. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Emery. The trial is taking place inside the St. Charles County Courthouse. Emery expects to take the stand in his own defense Thursday morning.
Phil Groenweghe is the lead prosecutor, while Emery is being represented by public defenders. Attorneys on both sides agree that Emery committed the killings, but Emery’s state of mind is in dispute. Groenweghe called Emery’s actions “deliberate, intentional, and purposeful.”
However, Emery’s attorneys are presenting a diminished capacity defense, claiming Emery had previously been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and was not in control of himself at the time of the murders. Emery faces 15 charges, including four counts of first-degree murder.
Emery is charged with killing his girlfriend, 39-year-old Kate Kasten, her two children from a previous relationship 10-year-old Jonathan and eight-year-old Zoe, and Kate’s mother 61-year-old Jane Moeckel. The tragedy happened at a St. Charles home just after Christmas in 2018. Authorities said after the murders, Emery exchanged gunfire with police and tried to carjack a woman while trying to get away. Investigators shared that Emery stabbed that woman seven times, fortunately she survived. Emery was captured the morning after the shootings in a St. Charles QuikTrip bathroom.
The trial has been ongoing since September 20. Prosecutors have told us that they expected the trial to take about two and a half weeks, with court taking place on Saturdays.