Christina Marcum

Case details

Christina Marcum was sentenced to 30 years in prison for her role in the murder and dismemberment of Angela Frazier Singleton, 25.

Timeline

• Jan. 16, 2011 — Angela Singleton called 911 at 1:10 a.m. to report that Jason Singleton had changed the locks on the Forest Hill Drive house.
• Jan. 17, 2011 — Angela Singleton’s mother reported her missing.
• Jan. 19, 2011 — Angela Singleton’s dismembered body was found in trash bags at the end of Tattler Branch Road in the Valley View community.
• Jan. 20, 2011 — Jason Singleton was arrested after an armed standoff in Somerset in which he held four hostages at gunpoint.
• Jan. 20, 2011 — Christina Marcum was interviewed by Kentucky State Police detectives.
• Feb. 10, 2011 — Christina Marcum went to the state police post in Richmond to submit to a buccal swab; a voluntary statement recorded by Detective Brian Reeder was played for the jury.
• Mar. 16, 2014 — Jury selection was scheduled to begin in the trial of Christina Marcum.
• Mar. 17, 2014 — Opening statements presented two competing accounts of the murder and dismemberment of Angela Singleton.
• Mar. 18, 2014 — Testimony included medical evidence about the manner of death and injuries; a video was played to the jury regarding a search of Jason Singleton’s house.
• Mar. 19, 2014 — The jury listened to recordings of conflicting statements given by Christina Marcum to Kentucky State Police about the 2011 murder.
• Mar. 25, 2014 — Mariah Smith testified about alleged attempts by Christina Marcum to intimidate her after the interview by a state police detective.
• Mar. 27, 2014 — A Madison County jury found Christina Tompkins Marcum guilty.
• May 23, 2014 — Christina Marcum was sentenced to 30 years in prison by Madison Circuit Judge William Clouse.

Background

Christina Tompkins Marcum and Jason Singleton were engaged and lived together at a home on Forest Hill Drive in Richmond before the relationship ended when he met Angela Frazier. Angela and Christina did not like each other, and the defense portrayed Marcum as having nothing to do with the murder.

The prosecution described Marcum as harassing the couple with repeated telephone calls, going to their house at all hours, breaking windows, and urinating on their front porch door mat. The prosecution also described the relationship as obsessive and volatile and stated that it believed Marcum had motive, intent, and opportunity to kill Angela.

The offence

Victim

Angela Frazier Singleton was 25 when she was killed.

Murder and dismemberment

An indictment said Marcum and Jason Singleton killed Angela Singleton and then “removed, destroyed, concealed and altered” her body.

Dr. Victoria Shively-Graham, a medical examiner, testified that Angela Singleton’s remains were found in six black garbage bags. The testimony stated that Angela’s head had been severed and her nose had been fractured, ribs on both sides had been fractured, she had been stabbed, and her remains showed evidence of bruises, scratches, and tearing of the skin. The testimony also stated that tattoos that would have easily identified her had been sliced away from the skin. The cause of death was “asphyxia (lack of oxygen) via strangulation,” supported by petechiae found in the whites of Angela’s eyes and in her throat.

The violence inflicted upon Angela Singleton before and after her death was a focus of testimony during the trial. The prosecution’s theory was that Marcum and Jason Singleton acted together, so it did not matter who inflicted the fatal blows.

Investigation

Investigators obtained a warrant to search Jason Singleton’s Richmond home for “any item,” including “power tools” or “any item that could be used as cutting/chopping instruments in the dismemberment” of Angela Frazier-Singleton’s body.

The search-warrant affidavit stated:

“The victim had been killed, dismembered and placed into plastic bags before being left beside the road before being discovered by the land owner,”

The search-warrant request stated that investigators sought items such as “weapons, firearms, knives blunt objects, (and) tools” that may have been used in the victim’s murder, and items that may have been used in the concealment/disposal of her body, including concrete mix, garbage bags, tape, string, rope, carpets and cleaning products.

Items seized

Among the items obtained in the search were:

• A Black and Decker Firestrom Circular Saw and an extension cord
• Two Chicago Cutlery knives
• A Farbreware knife
• A Model 119 Buck Knife
• Several blood samples, from the carpet and several other locations in the house
• Drain traps from the kitchen and bathrooms
• A box of Glad Force Flex X-large trash bags
• A box Husky drawstring trash bags
• A box of Kroger drawstring trash bags

Search of Jason Singleton’s house

Jurors heard Kentucky State Police Sgt. Bill Collins narrate a 23-minute video taken during a search of Jason Singleton’s house on Forest Hill Drive in Richmond. The prosecution’s theory and belief were that Angela Singleton was killed in that house. The state police searched the house for 28 hours after executing a warrant. State police took cushions from a sofa that had reacted to potential blood evidence that would have been undetectable to visual examination, Collins said.

Evidence collection and statements

On Feb. 10, 2011, Christina Marcum provided a buccal swab and gave statements recorded by Detective Brian Reeder.

The voluntary statement included:

“I'm not saying that I'm perfect. I'm not by no means,”
“But I'm saying I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Absolutely the worst place at the wrong time. And I did what I could do to stop it from happening. And there was nothing I could do. ”
“You have seen Jason, correct?”
“He's what? Six foot (tall), 230, 240 (pounds)? I'm 5 foot, 130 pounds. He's a lot stronger than me. This is not something I thought him capable of. This is not something that had ever crossed my mind. I slept next to him for over two years, in the same bed with him every night. Do you know how easily it would have been for him to do that to me? And even as much as he threatened me, I did not think it was something he was capable of doing.”

The jury also heard recordings from earlier interviews. When asked directly, Marcum stated “No.” When asked, “Have you tried to cover any thing up here?” she answered, “No.” When asked whether she saw Jason Singleton do it or he told her he did it, she answered “no,” and later told detectives Reeder and Joie Peters:

“He told me that he strangled her. ... I just freaked out. 'No, you didn't. You couldn't have.' ... I don't want to say anything else without an attorney.”

As an interview concluded, Marcum begged detectives not to share what she had told them with Jason Singleton. Detective Reeder noted Marcum attended Jason Singleton’s court appearance in Somerset and visited him six times at the Pulaski County jail. Subpoenaed cellphone records showed 85 text messages between Marcum and Jason Singleton from 5:58 p.m. Jan. 16, 2011 to 2 a.m. the next day.

Arrest

Jason Singleton was arrested Jan. 20 after an armed standoff with police in Somerset during which he held four hostages at gunpoint. A Lexington officer discovered Angela Singleton’s empty car after it was found on fire at mile marker 101 on I-75. Angela Singleton had been reported missing on Jan. 17 by her mother.

Bond and custody details

Marcum appeared before Madison Circuit Court and Madison County Detention Center housing was mentioned during proceedings before trial. Jason Singleton was held in the Pulaski County Detention Center under a $100,000 cash bond or $200,000 property bond pending a grand jury hearing in Somerset from the alleged armed standoff. The warrant obtained by County Attorney Marc Robbins and signed by District Judge Earl-Ray Neal called for Jason Singleton to be held on a $1 million cash bond when he was brought to Madison County to face the murder charge.

Trial

Charges and trial status

Christina Marcum was on trial for the killing of Angela Frazier Singleton, and she was charged with complicity to murder, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution. She was also charged with promoting contraband while in jail.

Jury and verdict

A jury of seven women and five men found Marcum guilty. The jury began deliberations at about 1:05 p.m. and returned a verdict about 6:30 p.m. The jury recommended 20 years for complicity to murder, five years on tampering, and five years on hindering prosecution to be served consecutively for a total of 30 years.

Prosecution and defense positions

Co-defense attorney Steve Romines said he planned to file an appeal. During opening statements, Steve Romines argued that Marcum was “not involved in the murder of Angela Singleton in any way” and said “suspicion and innuendo and half-truths” were all that the prosecution had.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jennifer Smith defended the investigation conducted by state police and presented the prosecution’s stance on motive. Smith asked the jury whether an innocent person would stalk a person for weeks, lie about their involvement, demand a deal before telling what they know, and continue to seek out the company of the very person they say choked the life out of his wife.

Evidence of intimidation and stalking testimony

Mariah Smith testified about attempted intimidation by Christina Marcum after Smith was interviewed by a state police detective investigating Angela Singleton’s death. Smith said Marcum had gone to her place of work, got into a verbal altercation, and blocked Smith from pulling into her home driveway with a vehicle. Smith testified:

“I was terrified,”
“...I had known of Christina being volatile with other people but never with me.”

Smith testified Marcum told her that she was present as Jason Singleton choked Angela Singleton to death. Smith testified Marcum said:

“He was choking her and I tried to stop him. I was beating on his back and tried to stop him.'”

Smith testified Marcum cautioned her that a state police detective might wish to speak to her and that Marcum advised:

“you tell him you don't want to talk to him without an attorney.”

Smith testified that later that day Marcum confronted her at the Fayette Mall store and that customers were drawn to the confrontation as her voice increased. Smith testified Marcum said:

“Don't you come at me like you're going to do something because you know I'll beat your ass.”

Smith testified that later that night Marcum called her cellphone while Smith made a night deposit at a bank branch in front of the mall. Smith testified that Marcum said she wanted to talk. After Smith tried to put her off and Marcum asked for Smith’s location, Smith testified:

“I just dropped my deposit off.”

Smith testified Marcum expressed surprise saying:

“I don't see your car anywhere.”

Smith testified that Marcum was following her and that Marcum’s car pulled up next to her at a mall exit. Smith testified Marcum demanded that Smith tell everything about the police interview, and Smith recounted:

“She's yelling at me,” demanding that Smith tell everything about the police interview.

Smith testified that after two other similar confrontations she saw a car swerve into her driveway and block it.

The testimony also described that in the phone conversation when Smith told Marcum about the detective’s interview, Marcum’s demeanor changed immediately. Smith testified Marcum said:

“What did you tell him? What did you tell him?”

Smith testified:

“I said, 'I didn't tell him anything he didn't already know. I didn't know anything to tell.'
And I remember her saying something about 'You just signed my prison sentence.' She was screaming at me.”

Evidence regarding relationships and alleged domestic violence

Jennifer Smith’s court documents described the “obsessive and volatile nature of her relationship with Jason Singleton.” The proceedings before trial included court documents describing several incidents of domestic violence.

The record included that Jason Singleton obtained an emergency protective order against Christina Tompkins in 2010. It also stated that in October 2010 Christina Tompkins was charged with assaulting Singleton by throwing a cellphone at him, causing an injury to his head. She pleaded guilty to the assault and then moved in with her high school boyfriend Nick Marcum, and within two weeks she and Marcum were married.

The proceedings described that in August or September 2010 Marcum assaulted Jason Singleton because she thought he had looked at another woman. The record also stated that there were calls to 911 involving the couple and Marcum in the month Angela and Jason were married.

Witness about alleged physical attack in 2010

Vanessa Goodin, a cousin of Angela Singleton, testified she saw Christina Tompkins physically attack Jason Singleton at a barbecue in late summer of 2010 after he had apparently shown too much attention to Goodin and another woman. The record described that Tompkins and Jason Singleton were together at that time but Singleton later dumped her for Angela Frazier.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jennifer Smith asked Goodin:

“Do you wish you could do that night over?”

Goodin answered:

“Absolutely,”

Sentencing

Madison Circuit Judge William Clouse Jr. sentenced Christina Marcum on May 23, 2014 to 30 years in prison for her role in the murder and dismemberment of her ex-fiancé's wife.

The sentence included an additional year for promoting contraband while in jail. The sentencing followed the jury recommendation of 20 years for complicity to murder, five years on tampering, and five years on hindering prosecution served consecutively.

Appeals

Steve Romines said he planned to file an appeal next week after sentencing.

The appeal basis was that during Marcum’s trial, a state police detective read a copy of Jason Singleton’s written plea statement in court without Jason Singleton being present for cross-examination by Marcum’s defense. Romines argued the violation was:

“That's a violation of the confrontation clause, of being able to confront and cross-examine witnesses against you,”
“We think that's pretty much set-in-stone law that you cannot introduce testimonial evidence without the ability to cross-examine.”

Outcome

Christina Tompkins Marcum was convicted of complicity to murder, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison on May 23, 2014, with an additional year for promoting contraband while in jail.