Kentucky high court overturns man's murder convictions in the killing of a father and young daughter

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Supreme Court has thrown out the double murder conviction of a Louisville man sentenced to life in prison for the 2020 ambush killing of a father and his 3-year-old daughter.

The court said Thursday that the trial judge erred when he didn’t declare a mistrial after a juror learned that a witness was accused of perjury during the 2022 trial of Kevon Lawless.

Prosecutors said Friday that they will seek to retry Lawless.

“Our prosecutors will proactively pursue a conviction based on the evidence and ensure accountability,” Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerina Whethers said in a news release. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said the child's killing was “personal” for him, since he stood with the girl's mother by her coffin in 2020.

Lawless was convicted of gunning down Brandon Waddles and Waddles’ 3-year-old daughter, Trinity Randolph, in front of their home. Lawless had a girlfriend lure Waddles outside the home, where Lawless was waiting and opened fire on him and his daughter, according to court records.

A man who drove Lawless to the shooting was accused of committing perjury while testifying at Lawless’ trial, according to the court. While in deliberations, jurors sent a note to Circuit Judge McKay Chauvin revealing they were aware that the man had been arrested for “lying on the stand,” and one juror said they could “no longer make a decision truthfully.”

Chauvin rejected Lawless’ attorneys motion seeking a mistrial, but one juror was replaced by an alternate. Lawless was later convicted of two counts of murder and one count of burglary. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The high court said Chauvin "committed reversible error by denying Lawless’s motion for a mistrial after the jury became aware of the trial court arresting a ... witness for perjury."

Lawless remained in prison on Friday, according to online records. State corrections records show he has previous convictions for attempted murder and assault.