Tuesday, November 15, 2005

RADIO HOST: I'M BUYING A BMW

James Keown, the Jefferson City radio talker charged with murdering his wife, allegedly told a friend that he wanted to buy a BMW convertible with his dead wife's insurance money. Insurance Journal reports:
According to court documents, Keown told a close friend after his wife's funeral, "I am going to take Julie's insurance money, buy a BMW Z4 convertible, go back to Kansas City and build a house. With what money is left over, I am going to start a foundation in Julie's name and run it for a few years.''

Julie Keown died Sept. 8, 2004, after complaining for months about dizziness, nausea and other symptoms. An autopsy found she'd been poisoned with ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.

About a month after the death, James Keown did move back to Missouri, where he had grown up, and got a job as a reporter and talk show host at radio station KLIK-AM. But he never collected the insurance money because her death came under investigation.
Sounds callous. Still doesn't make him a killer.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But as you say, doesn't make him a killer. Part of Keown's problem is he's the husband. The domestic partner is always the first suspect in a murder because they're the closest. Many times, that's sound police work, but some times it's lazy police work. Be interesting to see what side this comes out on, and with the Feds involved, it's bound to be a show.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I've missed something, but since when are the "Feds" involved in this case? Last I checked, it was a matter for local prosecution by authorities out east, with coop from locals in Cole County.

Anonymous said...

Keown also told everyone that he was attending Harvard Business School when, according to reports I've read, he doesn't even have an undergrad degree. Again, that certainly doesn't make him a murderer, but there is a definite pattern of deception in his life.

Ron Davis said...

bp: Keown may have a definite pattern of deception, but there's a big chasm between that and murder.