Trial opens for wife who crushed husband with car

A jury heard opening statements Tuesday in the trial of Keisha Jones, the West Philadelphia woman accused of intentionally hitting her husband with her car and killing him last November.

Jones, 31, is charged with murder and possessing an instrument of crime. Prosecutors have alleged that she deliberately pinned her husband, Tyrone Taylor, against a wall with her 2002 Acura after a lovers' quarrel, crushing him to death.

Assistant District Attorney Deborah Nixon cautioned jurors to "look at things clinically" during the trial.

"You will see the defendant step on the gas, direct the vehicle through a fence, through a lot, and mow him down," she said. "Don't let sympathy guide your decision. You are here to follow the law."

Jones' defense attorneys say she was simply trying to convince Taylor to get back in the car, arguing that his death was accidental and that Jones was devastated by her husband's death.

Defense attorney Richard DeSipio said in court Tuesday that he planned to put Jones on the stand, showing jurors a photo of Jones and Taylor taken Nov. 23, 2011 - four days before Taylor's death - that he said Jones has kept with her in prison.

"She wants to talk to you. She's done talking with me," DeSipio said. "She is trusting you with her life."

Jones' second cousin Tamara Stanford, who was in the car with Jones and Taylor the night Taylor died, testified for the prosecution that Jones and Taylor had been arguing about infidelity in the car.

Stanford testified that she had been using her cellphone in the backseat for much of the argument, but said that eventually Taylor, who was driving, got out of the car and began to walk away, saying he wanted to stay at his family's house for the night.

Then Jones jumped in the driver's seat and stepped on the gas, Stanford said. Taylor was, at that point, about six feet from the car.

"[Jones] ran into [Taylor], ran into the wall, and by the time she back up he was flat," Stanford said.

She said Jones got out of the car, screaming that she didn't mean to do it, after she hit the wall.

Jones' trial is expected to continue through tomorrow.