Pena, Ketcher

indicted for

Saffert murder

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A Brown County grand jury returned two six-count indictments against the two suspects in the killing of Edwin "Speedy" Saffert Thursday afternoon.

The jury reached its verdict after two days of hearing testimony from witnesses and examining evidence and close to one day of deliberation.

The indictments formally charge James Robert Ketcher, 27, and Daniel Ramon Pena, 16, with Saffert's murder. The pair were arrested at their homes in Springfield shortly after Saffert's death.

Saffert, 79, was found lying in his bed by a Springfield city utilities worker on the morning of Sept. 16 -- almost one day after he was beaten to death. An autopsy later confirmed Saffert's death as a murder.

Court documents said robbery was the likely motive for the killing because Saffert was rumored to have money hidden inside his house.

Pena and Ketcher are each facing six counts of murder in Brown County District Court.

The first two counts are in the first degree, which carry possible maximum sentences of life in a Minnesota state prison. The other four are second degree charges and have maximum penalties of 40 years in jail each. Ketcher and Pena were originally only charged with two counts of first degree murder.

"I'm not really surprised," said Ketcher's attorney Robert Docherty about the indictments. "The jury only heard from the prosecution. It's not the same as a trial jury verdict; the standards are higher."

Docherty represented Ketcher during his court appearances in New Ulm.

Darci Bentz, an attorney from the Fifth Judicial District public defender's office in Mankato, represented Pena. She declined to comment on the indictments.

"We're going to fight each and every count," Docherty said.

Brown County Attorney James Olson said the jury returned a six-count verdict after he instructed it on three different crimes. The first, he said, was first-degree murder. The second was aiding and abetting second-degree murder and the third was felony murder.

"I said 'You can find one, all, or none,'" Olson said from his home Thursday night.

Olson said he is pleased with the indictments, but he said the process required to get them was exhausting.

"I'm pleased that the grand jury indicted them. As I said earlier, this was a particularly brutal murder. Speedy Saffert was a very gentle human being and didn't deserve to end his days the way he did."

The grand jury originally convened Oct. 1 because state law requires an indictment within 30 days of an arrest when the case is first-degree murder. It reconvened Tuesday with evidence that was unavailable two weeks ago.

Jurors heard testimony from Saffert's friends and relatives, local and state law enforcement officers, several other witnesses and the Ramsey County coroner who performed the Sept. 17 autopsy on Saffert. State law requires grand jury investigations to begin and end in secrecy.

Ketcher and Pena returned to the courtroom later Thursday. They appeared calm as Judge John Rodenberg read off the charges against them and read them their rights.

Rodenberg decided to stick with the bail he set for the two suspects earlier this month. He left bail at $750,000 for both men, despite Docherty's and Bentz's protestations.

Docherty asked Rodenberg to reconsider Ketcher's bail because of family in Wright County. Docherty also expressed concerns about an apparent lack of privacy in the Brown County Jail that has made preparing a defense difficult. Docherty told Rodenberg that other inmates keep reading documents over Ketcher's shoulder.

"That makes it difficult for us to assist him in making a defense," Docherty said. "We request that he be released to the custody of his parents and ask for a bail of $10,000."

Rodenberg supported Olson's request to leave bail as it was set weeks ago, but he asked Cpt. Paul Wieland of the Brown County Sheriff's Department, the head administrator for the jail, to make better efforts to ensure Ketcher's privacy.

Bentz also told Rodenberg about problems Pena is having in jail. She said his mental health is suffering from solitary confinement, which state law requires for a juvenile being tried as an adult.

Bentz requested Rodenberg also reconsider the bail set for Pena, but the judge again kept the previous amount. Pena will be given the option to visit with a psychiatrist or psychologist in jail, Rodenberg said.