PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A former assistant Pike County attorney currently under indictment for the murder of his wife is seeking to have the case dismissed.
Donald Kyle Deskins, 54, of Kimper, was arrested Aug. 31 and charged with murder and evidence tampering for the death of his wife, who died in April of 2021.
A motion filed this week by his attorney, Steve Owens, argues that the indictment should be thrown out due to the way grand jury proceedings were conducted. Owens says in his motion that when Deskins learned of the investigation against him, he informed special prosecutor Tony Skeans that Deskins would like to present evidence to the grand jury.
Under Kentucky’s Rules of Criminal Procedure, once a prosecutor is informed of a suspect’s desire to present evidence, he or she is required to inform the grand jury of that desire. Grand jurors can then choose to hear from the defendant, but are not required to do so.
In his motion, Owens says recordings and transcripts of the proceedings show the grand jury was never told about Deskins’ wish to present evidence.
Owens says there is no way to undo the damage caused by the oversight, which he calls “prosecutorial misconduct,” and the case should therefore be dismissed. However, he adds that the case should not be dismissed with prejudice, but that it should be started over, with both sides given the chance to present evidence to a new grand jury.
Prosecutors have not yet responded to the motion.
Deskins is currently under house arrest, after his family posted his $100,000 cash bond in October.
