Prosecutors Claim Lawyer Had Suffered Months of Abuse Before Her Slaying
Prosecutors contend an Ohio man killed his live-in girlfriend, a Cincinnati criminal defense lawyer, after she suffered months of physical abuse at the hands of the defendant.
Prosecutors laid out their case on Tuesday against Calvin McKelton, who is being tried on charges that he murdered Fairfield, Ohio, lawyer Margaret “Missy” Allen in July 2008, according to the Middletown Journal and the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Allen’s nieces said they had witnessed McKelton abusing Allen. One niece said she had seen McKelton choking Allen, and another said she called 911 after McKelton broke Allen’s ankle. The Middletown Journal quotes one niece who lived with Allen, Terri Smith, who said her aunt had lied to authorities when asked about her broken ankle. “My Aunt Missy said don’t say nothing, don’t discuss what goes on in my house,” she said.
McKelton is also charged with hiring a hitman to kill a witness to Allen’s murder. McKelton maintains he was with two other girlfriends on the nights of the slayings.
Allen was an Ohio State University law graduate who had also worked as a prosecutor for the city of Woodlawn and as a substitute teacher, the Middletown Journal reported in a prior article. She was known as a skilled defense lawyer who represented McKelton in domestic violence and assault cases, according to a former Enquirer article.
