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Nov-19-2014 18:58printcomments

Confessed Murderer Joshua Cavett Sentencing Monday

Multnomah DA Agrees to a Plea of a Minimum 28 Years

Joshua Cavett
Joshua Cavett murdered his estranged wife in October 2013. He will serve one "life" sentence, plus 3 years. Photo: KATU

(SALEM, Ore.) -

Josh Cavett 4/14 bjk

Admitted murderer Josh Cavett will be granted a plea deal next week for the shooting death of his estranged wife, 27-year old Jessie Doyle, in the presence of her two young daughters.

Chris Mascal, the Multnomah Deputy District Attorney said they are 99.9% sure that on Monday, the man who has been in custody since the night of the killing will Change his Plea.

The victim’s family says Cavett will plead Guilty to Murder and receive 28 years in prison, and will not be eligible for parole before his time is served.

The tragic day was October 12th, 2013. Jessie was home with her two little girls at her Gresham apartment. Her oldest child, Peyton, was 5 when her estranged step-father arrived at the front door, gun in hand, and within moments, both she and her little sister witnessed the horrific murder of their mother. Their lives would never be the same.

He shot her in the head at point blank. Then, Cavett grabbed the toddler and fled the scene.

The 5-year old was left with her fatally wounded mother, whom she tried to help, and then used the cell phone and called for help. Her very capable response would be considered heroic, at any age.

Cavett gave himself up less than 12 hours after he killed his wife. Young Paige was returned, unharmed and now lives with her grandmother.

Peyton, the little hero, now lives with her father, Brian Kinney. Kinney is pleased with the plea decision.

Jessie and her girls, 2013

"Well I can finally express it. I am so frikkin happy my little girl doesn't have to go in front of the guy that murdered her mom," he posted on Facebook.

"I can't wait to stand up at court, take the bench and explain to him who all he affected. What he has done and how he turned my lil girl’s and my life upside down."

"My #1 priority is protecting Peyton. She's the one that re-lives it every day and I don't want to put her through anymore. No amount of years will ever be enough. There will never be enough time available for him for murdering her in front of the girls. I'm happy because Peyton doesn't have to testify," Kinney said.

The Cost and Benefit of Not Going to Trial

Why the youngster would need to testify in view of the murderer is uncertain, but, Deputy District Attorney Mascal said closed circuit television is absolutely not an option.

Peyton did, successfully, give testimony to the Grand Jury and that gave confidence to the family that she would fare well, especially if she could testify behind closed doors.

"The Grand Jury is not the same as a trial," said Deputy District Attorney Chris Mascal.

Testifying in criminal court is a very different scenario, indeed. That may be why there are options laid out to protect child victims and witnesses.

According to U.S. Code › Title 18 › Part II › Chapter 223 › § 3509 Child victims’ and child witnesses’ rights, there are two Alternatives to Live In-Court Testimony: (1) Child’s live testimony by 2-way closed circuit television; and (2) Videotaped deposition of child, if the court finds that the child is unable to testify in open court in the presence of the defendant, for reasons such as The child is unable to testify because of fear, and/or There is a substantial likelihood, established by expert testimony, that the child would suffer emotional trauma from testifying.

A First degree murder trial in Oregon may be a situation where this U.S. Code does not apply? It appears so.

From the start, this case appeared to many as one that would have been best tried in front of a jury, but that decision is up to the District Attorney, and the plea deal was apparently their preference.

Going to trial is a big commitment, and an expensive endeavor for Multnomah County (or any other jurisdiction). There is always a chance that good will not triumph, and some awkward loophole or misstep will cause justice to fail.

Jessie's girls admire their mother's photo on an event banner
for a special fundraiser, honoring Jessie, 10/2014.

According to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s (MCDA) web page, most criminal cases in the United States do not result in trials. Instead, prosecutors and defendants agree to a settlement prior to trial.

This agreement will generally allow a defendant to change his plea in return for a lesser sentence than he might have faced had the matter been tried and a conviction resulted.

Although the practice of plea bargaining is controversial among some, the MCDA says it provides significant advantages for all sides. It provides certainty to the defendant, who knows exactly how much time he will face, and similar certainty for the prosecution, and, as they’ve reiterated many times in this case, it avoids what is often traumatic testimony for crime victims at trial.

Most of all, the plea bargaining process allows the system to avoid the time and expense of trials. Currently, approximately 85-95% of criminal cases result in negotiated settlements.

They say that the court system would be unable to accommodate trials for all of these matters without a massive increase in resources.

For Joshua Cavett, a trial, unlike a negotiated plea deal, could have possibly concluded with a sentence of the Death Penalty, or of True Life. Now, that is off the table for this murderer, as well as the "Aggravated Murder" charge.

In 27 years (he has already served one year, so he’s got 27 to go), he will be released. Family and friends of Jessie Doyle may feel some solace knowing he will not see the outside of a prison for almost three decades.

As of Monday, it will be a "done deal".

The Rough Road to this Destination

This isn’t Cavett’s first attempt to avoid trial. On April 14th of this year, Cavett went before the DA with an offer and that plea deal fell flat. The victim’s family was there in force, and most would only support going to trial.

"The only "deal" that will have my full support is True life or the Death penalty... part of me goes more for True Life, let him suffer in there while we all have to suffer out here," Jennie Cochran, Jessie’s sister, said last spring.

"This means that when he is eligible to be a free man when Jessie's girls are right around Jessie's age. I'm sorry, but Jessie's life is worth more than 25 years. We would like his minimum sentence to be True Life and his charge to be at least Aggravated Murder." "This was premeditated, this was planned, he went over to Jessie's place planning to kill her," Jennie added.

The DA has final say over every aspect of the case, but they do take the family’s perspective into consideration.

If the DA had come to an agreement with the Defense last spring, they would have moved into sentencing then. Instead, the next time this was discussed in front of a judge was October 28th.

At that point, Cavett’s defense said he would plead Guilty to Murder I in exchange for one life sentence (25 years), but no agreement was made.

"Then they called and said he would make it 27 years, but he wanted Aggravated Murder to be removed. The DA said ‘no’," said one of the victim’s brothers, Mike Kondash.

"A few days later, I get a call and they said they want to go with 28 years. 28 years, not even 30, like he could’ve gotten with Aggravated Murder. For this not to go to trial, it’s got to be about money. Pretty frustrating."

Let the Healing Begin...

Jessie’s bereaved family has considered the pros and cons of supporting the current plea deal. Most still prefer a harsher sentence, with no hope of freedom, but the prospect of a long, drawn out trial with a questionable outcome and the idea of putting the, now 6-year old, minor witness on the stand tipped the scales.

"Stomp Out DV" shirt

"The family has an opinion that the DA hears, but the DA runs the show," said Mike Kondash.

"I think if he went to trial he would get true life. I’d like to see a fair trial, and for him to be held accountable."

That would have been best-case scenario. Instead, this plea deal is a solid guarantee that Cavett will be locked away for most of his life, at least. With this chapter closed, perhaps it will be possible for the victims left behind to move forward, and start healing.

"I will stand together with my mom, whatever she thinks. In the end, all of us will stand together, deal or no deal," Kondash said.

"Take the plea," Jessie Doyle’s family agreed.

Sentencing will take place at the Multnomah county court house on Monday November 24th at 2:30 pm in room 406.

Jennie Doyle expects it to be a packed courtroom. "I, personally, ask that those that show up please reserve the front row for Jessie's immediate family," Jennie requested of those planning to attend the hearing.

The judge sent word that no "Stomp Out" t-shirts would be allowed in the courtroom. The popular black shirt portrays Josh's head getting stomped on as an anti-domestic violence statement.

"If you show up wearing that shirt you will not be allowed in the court room," said Jennie Doyle. "However, there are benches in the hallway if you are dead set on wearing that shirt and showing up."

(NOTE: The court has since revamped their statement, and now are not allowing the shirt inside the building)

See also:

Murdered Mother-of-Two Honored at Fundraiser October 9, 2014

Murderer Josh Cavett has his Day in Court April 14, 2014

Oregon Mother of Two Shot and Killed by Estranged Husband October 13, 2013

UPDATE: Oregon Amber Alert Cancelled for Missing Two Year Old October 12, 2013

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Austin King November 22, 2014 11:12 pm (Pacific time)

Great story. What a terrible bastard.

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