Tausha Morton

Case information

• Defendant: Tausha Morton (also referred to as Tausha Fields in court)
• Place: Boone County, Missouri (trial and sentencing); Dickinson, Texas (arrest location); St. Louis (Greg Morton’s arrest location)
• Victim: Mitchell Kemp (also referred to as Mitch Kemp; Mitchell Wayne Kemp)
• Victim’s family: Tara Kemp (victim’s daughter), Tracy Kemp (victim’s brother), Carole Kemp (victim’s mother), Michelle Kemp (victim’s sister), Chari Batye (Greg Morton’s sister), Carolyn Kemp (victim’s mother)

Timeline

• Aug. 24, 2004 — Mitchell Kemp was shot after Tausha Morton convinced Greg Morton to shoot and kill Mitch Kemp; the body was taken and placed in a hole.
• Summer of 2004 — Mitchell Wayne Kemp had not been seen.
• Aug. 2004 — Tausha moved into a relationship involving Greg Morton; Mitch Kemp’s last communication was described as in August of 2004.
• August 2008 — Tausha led investigators to the remains of her estranged husband Mitch Kemp, which were buried on a Boone County farm.
• June 22, 2010 — Opening arguments were given in Tausha Morton’s first-degree murder trial.
• June 24, 2010 — Prosecutors played videos of Tausha’s interviews with Boone County Sheriff investigators taken in 2007 while Tausha was living in Alabama.
• June 24, 2010 — Ex-boyfriends testified; Greg Morton testified that he shot Mitch Kemp after Tausha lied.
• June 29, 2010 — A Boone County jury found Tausha Morton guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action; later that day the jury continued deliberations.
• Aug. 16, 2010 — Tausha Morton was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
• December 22, 2008 — Tausha Fields was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Mitchell Kemp’s 2004 death and was arrested at a Dickinson residence.

Background

Tausha Morton was also referred to as Tausha Fields, her maiden name, throughout the trial. She was married to Greg Morton and Mitchell Kemp at the time of Kemp’s murder. She was legally married to both men at the time of the killing.

Mitch Kemp was the father of Tausha’s daughter, Lexie. After Mitch Kemp disappeared, Tausha later became involved with Keith Jones; she later dated and then had another relationship with Dwayne Barrentine.

Tausha was described as married to two men at the same time six years prior to the trial. The trial evidence included that after the murder, Tausha and Greg divorced.

In June 2007, Dewayne Barrentine encountered Tausha Fields, who was 31-year-old at that time, and later moved into a family situation with Barrentine and his son.

Barrentine described Tausha as having recently moved with a 4-year-old daughter, Lexie, and working at a daycare center. Barrentine also said Tausha told him she had a Bachelor's degree in criminal justice.

Barrentine later said he discovered multiple aspects of Tausha’s past by reviewing computer records, including a marriage license showing she had been married to Mitchell Wayne Kemp, and that she had been married five times.

The offence

Mitchell Kemp was murdered in connection with Tausha Morton’s alleged role in convincing Greg Morton to shoot and kill him. Prosecutors said Tausha Morton never pulled the trigger but convinced her husband Greg Morton to shoot and kill her ex-husband Mitch Kemp.

During a re-enactment described at trial, Greg Morton showed jurors how he shot Mitch Kemp multiple times with a handgun.

Prosecutors said that after the murder, Greg Morton and Tausha took the body and put it in a hole. Authorities later discovered Mitch Kemp’s skeletal remains in a clandestine grave and an autopsy revealed Kemp had been shot numerous times and later, after a later discovery, that Mitch Kemp had been shot six times in the chest.

The motive presented during trial differed between prosecution and defense:

• The prosecution said the motive behind Mitch Kemp’s murder was that Tausha Morton wanted sole custody of her daughter.
• The defense said Greg Morton wanted to dominate Tausha Morton’s life and killed Mitch Kemp in a fit of jealousy.

Prosecutors said Tausha accused Mitch Kemp of raping her and her daughter, and used that allegation to convince Greg Morton to kill Mitch Kemp. In closing argument, Prosecutor Richard Hicks said Tausha wanted to keep their daughter Lexie for herself and that the murder ended Mitch so he could not have custody.

The defense contested this narrative and presented it as Greg Morton’s jealousy and domination, with Greg allegedly controlling Tausha.

Investigation

The investigation by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department began after a family member found information that Kemp was murdered. The investigation led to the discovery of Kemp’s skeletal remains in a clandestine grave on property once owned by Morton and Fields.

An autopsy revealed Kemp had been shot numerous times.

For four years Mitch Kemp had been missing until investigators received information in 2008. Keith Jones and Dewayne Barrentine were described as providing information leading to investigators questioning Tausha.

Investigators later traveled to interview Tausha, and during questioning she denied knowledge of Mitch’s whereabouts at first.

During the process described in the narrative, investigators watched police video showing Tausha used a map to show the exact location of Mitch Kemp’s unmarked grave and later led deputies to the unmarked grave on property south of Columbia.

In the later video questioning described, investigators said they found nothing when they returned with equipment after Tausha pointed to a location near where the old farm house used to be, and the prosecutors and investigators said they then believed she was lying. Investigators later questioned Tausha again and said they dug up an area and then found what they were looking for.

The narrative included quotations during interviews and interrogation, including:

• Tausha Morton pointing to a map and saying: "It’s right here,"
• Tausha Fields: "I’m telling you, it’s right here."
• Detective: "OK, that’s all we need to know."
• Detective : "OK, that's all we need to know."
• Tausha Fields : "If I knew, as well as this is wood (taps table), what happened to Mitch, I would tell you."
• Tausha Fields : "It doesn’t surprise me. It doesn’t surprise me at all."
• Tausha Fields : "His mind is not right. He lives in a... He's a very angry person, know what I’m sayin'?"
• Detective : "So if I thought he had done something to Mitch, it wouldn’t surprise you? ...Do you think he’s capable of hurting someone like that?"
• Tausha Fields : "I mean, he hurt me!"
• Detective : "Just let it out..."
• Tausha Fields : "Greg killed Mitch. He told me."
• Tausha Fields : "Greg has no problem with hurtin' anybody. None."
• Tausha Fields : "I wasn’t there! I didn’t have anything to do with it!"
• Tausha Fields : "I wasn’t there!
• Tausha Fields : "Lexie had got school pictures from the daycare... and um, Mitch and I went out there to get that and probably... to spend some time together."
• Tausha Fields : "And, I walked up on the porch ... And I turned around - Greg had come around the corner of the house and had his gun drawn. Mitch had his hands up and he started walking backwards."
• Tausha Fields : "All Mitch said was, 'It’s not what you think.'"
• Tausha Fields : "He shot him,"
• Tausha Fields : "I saw him take his last breath, and there wasn’t anything I could do for him."
• Prosecutor Hicks : "Why would I be any different?"
• Tausha Fields : "Probably would have been the thing to do,"
• Tausha Fields : "but when you watch somebody be gunned down, maybe your thoughts aren't rational."
• Prosecutor Hicks : "Let him sit in jail for a few months. And then, see if he's ready to talk."
• Tausha Fields : "They just jerked me off a motorcycle and told me I was under arrest!"
• Det. Dave Wilson : "Yeah."
• Tausha Fields : "I didn't hurt nobody!"
• Tausha Fields : "I think I'm gonna throw up...."
• Detective : "We dug up an area probably a hundred yards long!"
• Detective : "I'm one of those who don't believe you're telling us all you know."
• Tausha Fields : "It's right here David [pointing at a map]. I'm telling you it's right here."
• "I was right there," Tausha said: "I was right there."
• "How did you react?" asks Moriarty.
• "I got sick," Tausha said.

Arrest

Tausha Fields (Tausha Morton) was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Mitchell Kemp’s 2004 death and was arrested at a Dickinson residence and taken into custody by Galveston County Texas authorities.

Gregory Morton (Greg Morton) was arrested in St. Louis the previous year and was charged with first-degree murder; he was held in the Boone County jail on $1 million cash only bond.

In the narrative, Tausha Fields said: "They just jerked me off a motorcycle and told me I was under arrest!" and "I didn't hurt nobody!" during the time she was arrested.

Trial

The trial occurred in Boone County Circuit Court. The trial lasted more than a week and was sent to the jury after 1:30 p.m. following deliberation.

The defense referred to her as Tausha Fields, her maiden name, throughout the trial, while the state charged by the name Tausha Morton.

Charges and verdict

The jury found Tausha Morton guilty of:

• first-degree murder
• armed criminal action

Evidence and testimony

Evidence included hours of video testimony by Tausha Morton/Fields, and testimony from multiple witnesses.

Greg Morton was described as admitting he shot and killed Mitch Kemp and agreed to testify against his former wife. The trial narrative described Greg Morton as pleading guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for his testimony.

Morton testified that he believed he killed an innocent man because of Tausha Morton’s lies and that she lured Kemp to the farm so Morton could kill him.

A key witness was Greg Morton, described as 42 years old, another of Fields’ ex-husbands. He admitted to shooting Kemp but testified that Fields lured Kemp to Morton’s farm so Morton could kill him.

Keith Jones testified about hearing Tausha’s story and described the circumstances around Tausha getting Greg Morton involved.

Dwayne Barrentine testified as an ex-boyfriend of Tausha’s and told jurors that he learned she had been involved with the murder of an ex.

The jury deliberated for seven hours in one account and for eight hours in another narrative, with the verdict reached after the jury returned to court.

Quotations attributed to witnesses and parties during trial

• First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Richard Hicks said: "I am very pleased with the verdict."
• First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Richard Hicks said: "I am particularly happy for the family. They have been through a lot."
• Richard Hicks said: "Tausha Morton may not look like it, but she is a vicious person."
• Public defender Paul Hood said: "Fields will appeal the verdict."
• Tracy Kemp said: "It’s hard to say the number of lives this has affected."
• Tracy Kemp said: "We have a very strong family."
• Greg Morton apologized to the Kemp family and said it was not until after Fields left him that he realized he had killed an innocent man.
• Tracy Kemp said of Morton’s apology: "With all the things we have dealt with, and knowing what Tausha was capable of, we could tell it was sincere."
• Tracy Kemp said: "For someone that killed my brother, I have to say that I actually feel sorry for him."
• Hicks said during closing: "I want someone to own up to what they have done,"
• Hicks said: "He had reliable information that was corroborated."
• Hicks said: "Lying is like breathing to her,"
• Hicks said: "How do you cut a deal with someone like that?"
• Hood said: "I’m not trying to convince you that Tausha is a perfect person, not by any means,"
• Public Defender Paul Hood told the jury: "He wanted to dominate her and he wanted to control her. He wanted to take over the spot that Mitch had in her life."
• Greg Morton told jurors: "The gun was in my hand,"
• Greg Morton told jurors: "I raised it and pointed it at him."
• Greg Morton told jurors: "I kind of paused."
• Greg Morton told jurors: "I was kind of struggling there with it a little bit."
• Greg Morton told jurors: "Then, she started yelling for me to shoot him."
• Hood said in closing: "This is a very stark case. It's a case of extreme contrasts,"
• Hood said in closing: "Tausha Fields is either a monster - a conniving, manipulative monster - or she is the victim of Greg Morton."
• Hood said: "I hope they acquit her entirely,"
• Hood said: "Yes. ...because of her wiliness to help the detectives."
• Hood said: "Mitch is gone. He's not coming back,"
• Hood said: "But is not my fault that he's dead."
• Hood said: "I'm not the mastermind of a crime."
• Hood told the court: "Please don't take away her freedom."
• Hood said in closing: "I don't know how somebody that shoots somebody six times is credible,"
• Hood said: "Mitch was having an affair with Tausha and that really hurt Greg's ego,"
• Hood told jurors: "She helped solve this case. She led them to the body,"
• Hood told jurors: "She wanted to help and she did. And the justice system chewed her up. And you're the only ones that can change it."
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks told Moriarty: "I really think she believed she was convincing law enforcement that she was not involved,"
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks told the court: "Poor, poor Tausha,"
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks said in closing argument: "She's a victim of the system."
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks said: "It's the same system that gave her multiple opportunities to simply tell the truth."
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks said in closing: "I don't believe for a second that Tausha was afraid of Greg Morton."
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks said: "This was self preservation. It wasn't fear,"
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks said: "She of her own free will spun this web of deception."
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks said: "She loved this daughter."
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks said: "This is what the murder was about."
• Prosecutor Richard Hicks said: "The only way Tausha could assure, ensure, make sure that Mitch never had any kind of custody - joint, sole, whatever - was that he ended up four or five feet underground,"
• Tausha said: "If it was a custody battle, then Mitch has an attorney and he's filed paperwork and we're in a custody battle,"
• Tausha said: "But there wasn't."
• Tausha said: "I had Lexie. I had Lexie all the time. He saw her sometimes but we didn't argue,"
• Prosecutor Hicks told the court: "The defense wants to scare you here that you're sending away an innocent woman?"
• Prosecutor Hicks told the court: "You know in your heart that she's involved,"
• Prosecutor Hicks said in closing: "Find her guilty."
• Tausha said after verdict: "I sat on my hands and I stared on the wall. I was just, I wasn't there,"
• Tausha said: "I heard the beginning of 'guilty' and I was done."
• Tausha said: "I didn't say anything ... and I stood up and walked out."
• A juror said: "We're like, 'Well Greg did this. So you know, Tausha shouldn't get a higher sentence," and added: "That was a real big contention, I think, for all of us."
• A juror said: "Who do we believe more?"
• A juror said: "You know, it's Tausha's story versus Greg's story,"
• A juror said: "I was one that had a little more trouble with Greg Morton's testimony ... he wasn't that convincing,"
• A juror said: "He appeared to me as if he were well coached."
• A juror said: "Finally, after eight hours, the jury returned to court with its verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder."
• A juror said: "I found it hard to believe anything she said,"
• A juror said: "Tausha's story changed every time we heard it,"
• A juror said: "Greg's story never changed."
• A juror said: "I thought he was more credible than she was."
• A juror said: "I do. I know it sounds crazy... But it's not just Greg, you know. She had some kind of power over men,"
• A juror said: "We had some men on the jury and the men were like, 'What has she got going on?'"
• A juror said: "That's still a mystery."
• Keith Jones said: "She made a lotta people's lives miserable. I mean miserable,"
• Dewayne Barrentine said: "I was ecstatic."
• Dewayne Barrentine said: "I was happy,"
• Barrentine said: "That family in Missouri, they at least can now say they have closure."
• Tracy Kemp said: "No matter what the verdict was, it's not gonna bring my best friend back,"
• Tracy Kemp said: "It's not gonna fill that void in my life."
• Tracy Kemp said: "It's finally justice for Mitch,"
• Tausha said: "She has every right to be mad at me, and blame me for what she's going through,"
• Tausha said: "but, in the event that I don't talk to Lexie and I don't see her, she'll see this. She'll see the truth."

Jury and deliberation

During closing and deliberation, jurors discussed the sentencing differences between the shooter and the defendant, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty of first-degree murder after eight hours in one narrative.

Sentencing

On August 16, 2010, the court sentenced Tausha Morton to life in prison without parole.

Tausha Morton stood without emotion when sentenced.

Tara Kemp, the victim’s daughter, testified during sentencing and said:

• "I wish he was there to see me receive my college diploma and my brother’s high school diploma,"
• "I wish I could call him and ask him about advice about things going on in my life."
• "I wish I could call him and ask him."

Victim’s brother Tracy Kemp made statements at sentencing, saying:

• "I tried in my heart to gain closure and grant forgiveness,"
• "I have accepted that forgiveness my not be possible."
• "Closure will only be accepted when I know that this monster is put away forever and she can never, ever hurt another person or family."

The narrative also said evidence showed Tausha Morton kicked and spit on Mitch Kemp just before he died.

Prosecutor Richard Hicks and Public Defender Paul Hood declined to comment on Tausha Morton’s sentencing.

The sentencing placed Tausha Morton in the Missouri Department of Corrections, and she planned to appeal within the next 10 days.

Appeals

Tausha Morton planned to appeal the sentence within the next 10 days after August 16, 2010.

Other details

Tausha Morton had a 16-year-old daughter at the time described in the trial narrative.

Greg Morton was described as having an eligible parole date in 2022 and being 54 years old at that time.

Lexie Kemp was described as being without her father and with her mother convicted, with Mitch Kemp’s brother Tracy and his family described as legal guardians of Lexie.

Outcome

Tausha Morton was found guilty of first-degree murder (and armed criminal action) and was later sentenced to life in prison without parole on August 16, 2010.