Opinion ID: 733298
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Mr. Ford's Statements

Text: 6 Mr. Ford agreed to two interviews conducted by Officer Jeffrey Michael Regan of the Urbana Police Department. The second was tape-recorded. Mr. Ford also testified at trial. His testimony concerning the arguments and physical fighting on September 17, 1989, in most ways parallels the testimony of others. Therefore, we begin our overview of the events of September 17, 1989, by reviewing Mr. Ford's testimony and interview statements. 7 On the afternoon of September 17, 1989, Mr. Ford had been out drinking. 2 When he returned home late that afternoon, he was angry to find so many people in his house, in fact in his bedroom, drinking his alcohol and eating his food. Hoping to lie down because he was drunk, Mr. Ford threw open the door to the bedroom. He began an argument with his wife Mary Marion which turned into a physical tussle. Mr. Ford burned his wife's chest with a cigarette once or twice; he testified that he must have burned her by accident. After Mary Marion screamed, Karonda came into the bedroom to defend her mother. She and her stepfather began arguing as well. Someone pushed Mr. Ford onto the bed; he began throwing his hands around and kicking to try to get up. Mr. Ford, wearing black combat or engineer-type boots at the time, admitted that he may have kicked [Karonda] a couple of times and that he probably kicked her with his left foot 'cause [his] right foot is messed up.'  8 Loose Pleadings at C 135; see also id. at C 118; Tr. VII at 159. Karonda stabbed her stepfather with a steak knife that was in the bedroom. 3 8 Once he realized that he was bleeding, Mr. Ford left the house. However, the stabbing upset him; he returned swinging an automobile bumper jack, which he beat on the kitchen stove. When he went back outside, the police had arrived. Mr. Ford collapsed and was taken to Carle Hospital.