Pair sentenced in cold case murder from 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — Rachel Martin and Edward Carroll were sentenced Tuesday for their involvement in a cold case murder that went unsolved for more than a decade.
Martin was sentenced to 10 years for criminal facilitation to murder. She’ll receive credit for time already spent in jail.
Carroll was sentenced to a maximum of 10 years for manslaughter. He’ll receive credit for time already spent in jail.
Probation was denied for both.
The pair was arrested two years ago and 11 years after 71-year-old Charlie Sowers, the owner of Charlie’s Restaurant and Lounge, was found dead. Police were investigating the case ever since Sowers was found with a head injury at his home on Augusta Drive in May 2009. He later died at a hospital from blunt force trauma.
At the sentencing, one of Sowers’s daughters, Sharon McKinney addressed Martin and Carroll in an emotional exchange.
“71 years old and you all felt the need to beat my father and leave him,” she said. “Was it worth it? Are you sorry at all? Or are you only sorry you got caught?”
McKinney said the family knew the whole time it was Carroll and Martin who killed Sowers.
Police haven’t released many details about the murder, or how Martin and Carroll are connected to the victim, but McKinney said at the sentencing that Carroll was a friend of the family. Martin was Carroll’s girlfriend at the time but had no connection to the family.
McKinney said Carroll had robbed Sowers before, but her dad never pressed charges. She says that’s the kind of man he was, that he showed Carroll mercy.
“I don’t think he went to kill him that day. I think he thought he had an easy target because he even posted online I robbed an old man and got by with it. So you know, the thing is he made a terrible decision but now he needs to pay for it and now he has to,” she said.
McKinney’s address ended with her saying she forgives Carroll and hopes he changes his life. Carroll chose to not address the court.
Martin’s attorney pushed for the judge to grant her probation, claiming she was in an abusive relationship with Carroll at the time and had a history of drug abuse. Martin then addressed the court with an apology letter, in part saying she hopes the family can find peace and that “I really am sorry.”
McKinney said the apology was appreciated.
“It’s nice to hear, whether it was truly meant or not but the look on her face kind of looked like it was. The thing is you can’t undo the things you do but I appreciate that,” she added.
