Murder trial begins
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HURON – Keith Houck was lured to the rural Huron farm of Kevin Krueger in late May 2016 with the promise he would be paid money that had been owed to him for some time, evidence presented by the prosecution indicated on the first day of Krueger’s first-degree murder trial.
Beadle County State’s Attorney Mike Moore told jurors in his opening statement that Houck’s battered body was found at Krueger’s farm, the defendant had blood on his shoes and that Krueger told a deputy sheriff a few days later that Houck was dead and that he had hit him with a baseball bat.
“The defendant set a trap and took Keith’s life,” Moore said. “It’s as simple as that.”
But defense attorney Zachary Flood of Mitchell countered in his opening statement that another man, Jose Antonio Vega of Montevideo, Minn., had already pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter in the May 31, 2016 death and is in the state penitentiary.
By entering that plea, Vega took responsibility for Houck’s death, Flood said.
He said no fingerprints or DNA was found on the alleged weapon.
“There’s nothing to tie Kevin to that baseball bat,” Flood said.
Also, he said Krueger voluntarily reported Houck’s death to Beadle County Deputy Sheriff Shane Ball. While Krueger told Ball he had committed the crime, that can’t be true because Vega took responsibility for it, Flood said.