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Griffith Pleads Guilty to Multiple Charges, Including Murder

McCracken County Sheriff's Dept./Facebook

After a long legal battle, a McCracken County man has pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, setting fire to his house and attempting to hire someone to shoot the lead investigator on his case.

Keith Griffith made the plea Tuesday, admitting to killing his wife, Julie, in January 2014 and then burning his Reidland home down in a cover-up attempt. Griffith also pleaded guilty to two counts of 2nd degree cruelty to animals because his two dogs died in the fire.

Furthermore, Griffith waived a fresh indictment and pleaded guilty to criminal solicitation to 1st degree assault. McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden says he was notified in November of last year that Griffith was attempting to hire someone to kill McCracken County Sheriff’s Department detective Matt Carter. Hayden says the FBI then conducted an investigation and confirmed that Griffith was “actively engaged” in trying to hire someone to shoot Carter for $10,000.

Hayden said the person that Griffith tried to hire for the would-be assassination turned him in to law enforcement.

McCracken County Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach sentenced Griffith to 30 years in prison. 

John Null is the host and creator of Left of the Dial. From 2013-2016, he also served as a reporter in the WKMS newsroom.
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