Confessed Murderer Joshua Cavett

Sentencing Monday
Bonnie King Salem-News.com-Nov-192014
Multnomah DA Agrees to a Plea of a Minimum 28 Years
JoshuaCavettmurderedhisestrangedwifein
October2013.Hewillserveone"life"
sentence,plus3years.Photo:KATU

(SALEM, Ore.) Admitted murderer Josh Cavett will be granted a plea deal
next week for the shooting death of his estranged wife,
27-year old Jessie Doyle, in the presence of her two young
daughters.
Chris Mascal, the Multnomah Deputy District Attorney said
they are 99.9% sure that on Monday, the man who has
been in custody since the night of the killing will Change
his Plea.
JoshCavett4/14bjk The victims family says Cavett will plead Guilty to Murder

and receive 28 years in prison, and will not be eligible for

parole before his time is served.
The tragic day was October 12th, 2013. Jessie was home with her two little
girls at her Gresham apartment. Her oldest child, Peyton, was 5 when her
estranged step-father arrived at the front door, gun in hand, and within
moments, both she and her little sister witnessed the horrific murder of
their mother. Their lives would never be the same.
He shot her in the head at point blank. Then, Cavett grabbed the toddler
and fled the scene.

The 5-year old was left with her fatally wounded mother, whom she tried to
help, and then used the cell phone and called for help. Her very capable
response would be considered heroic, at any age.
Cavett gave himself up less than 12 hours after he killed his wife. Young
Paige was returned, unharmed and now lives with her grandmother.
Peyton, the little hero, now lives with her father, Brian Kinney. Kinney is
pleased with the plea decision.
"Well I can finally express it. I am so frikkin happy my
little girl doesn't have to go in front of the guy that
murdered her mom," he posted on Facebook.
"I can't wait to stand up at court, take the bench and
explain to him who all he affected. What he has done
and how he turned my lil girls and my life upside
down."
"My #1 priority is protecting Peyton. She's the one
that re-lives it every day and I don't want to put her
through anymore. No amount of years will ever be
Jessieandhergirls,2013 enough. There will never be enough time available for

him for murdering her in front of the girls. I'm happy because Peyton
doesn't have to testify," Kinney said.
The Cost and Benefit of Not Going to Trial
Why the youngster would need to testify in view of the murderer is
uncertain, but, Deputy District Attorney Mascal said closed circuit television
is absolutely not an option.
Peyton did, successfully, give testimony to the Grand Jury and that gave
confidence to the family that she would fare well, especially if she could
testify behind closed doors.
"The Grand Jury is not the same as a trial," said Deputy District Attorney

Chris Mascal.
Testifying in criminal court is a very different scenario, indeed. That may be
why there are options laid out to protect child victims and witnesses.
According to U.S. Code Title 18 Part II Chapter 223 3509 Child
victims and child witnesses rights, there are two AlternativestoLiveInCourt
Testimony: (1) Childs live testimony by 2-way closed circuit television; and
(2) Videotaped deposition of child, if the court finds that the child is unable
to testify in open court in the presence of the defendant, for reasons such
as The child is unable to testify because of fear, and/or There is a
substantial likelihood, established by expert testimony, that the child would
suffer emotional trauma from testifying.
A First degree murder trial in Oregon may be a situation where this U.S.
Code does not apply? It appears so.
From the start, this case appeared to many as one that would have been
best tried in front of a jury, but that decision is up to the District Attorney,
and the plea deal was apparently their preference.
Going to trial is a big commitment, and an expensive endeavor for
Multnomah County (or any
other jurisdiction). There is
always a chance that good
will not triumph, and some
awkward loophole or
misstep will cause justice
to fail.
According to the
Multnomah County District
Attorneys (MCDA) web
page, most criminal cases

Jessie'sgirlsadmiretheirmother'sphotoonaneventbanner
foraspecialfundraiser,honoringJessie,10/2014.

in the United States do not result in trials. Instead, prosecutors and

defendants agree to a settlement prior to trial.
This agreement will generally allow a defendant to change his plea in return
for a lesser sentence than he might have faced had the matter been tried
and a conviction resulted.
Although the practice of plea bargaining is controversial among some, the
MCDA says it provides significant advantages for all sides. It provides
certainty to the defendant, who knows exactly how much time he will face,
and similar certainty for the prosecution, and, as theyve reiterated many
times in this case, it avoids what is often traumatic testimony for crime
victims at trial.
Most of all, the plea bargaining process allows the system to avoid the time
and expense of trials. Currently, approximately 85-95% of criminal cases
result in negotiated settlements.
They say that the court system would be unable to accommodate trials for
all of these matters without a massive increase in resources.
For Joshua Cavett, a trial, unlike a negotiated plea deal, could have
possibly concluded with a sentence of the Death Penalty, or of True Life.
Now, that is off the table for this murderer, as well as the "Aggravated
Murder" charge.
In 27 years (he has already served one year, so hes got 27 to go), he will
be released. Family and friends of Jessie Doyle may feel some solace
knowing he will not see the outside of a prison for almost three decades.
As of Monday, it will be a "done deal".
The Rough Road to this Destination
This isnt Cavetts first attempt to avoid trial. On April 14th of this year,
Cavett went before the DA with an offer and that plea deal fell flat. The
victims family was there in force, and most would only support going to

trial.
"The only "deal" that will have my full support is True life or the Death
penalty... part of me goes more for True Life, let him suffer in there while
we all have to suffer out here," Jennie Cochran, Jessies sister, said last
spring.
"This means that when he is eligible to be a free man when Jessie's girls
are right around Jessie's age. I'm sorry, but Jessie's life is worth more than
25 years. We would like his minimum sentence to be True Life and his
charge to be at least Aggravated Murder." "This was premeditated, this was
planned, he went over to Jessie's place planning to kill her," Jennie
added.
The DA has final say over every aspect of the case, but they do take the
familys perspective into consideration.
If the DA had come to an agreement with the Defense last spring, they
would have moved into sentencing then. Instead, the next time this was
discussed in front of a judge was October 28th.
At that point, Cavetts defense said he would plead Guilty to Murder I in
exchange for one life sentence (25 years), but no agreement was made.
"Then they called and said he would make it 27 years, but he wanted
Aggravated Murder to be removed. The DA said no," said one of the
victims brothers, Mike Kondash.
"A few days later, I get a call and they said they want to go with 28 years.
28 years, not even 30, like he couldve gotten with Aggravated Murder. For
this not to go to trial, its got to be about money. Pretty frustrating."
Let the Healing Begin...
Jessies bereaved family has considered the pros and cons of supporting the
current plea deal. Most still prefer a harsher sentence, with no hope of
freedom, but the prospect of a long, drawn out trial with a questionable

outcome and the idea of putting the, now 6-year old, minor witness on the
stand tipped the scales.
"The family has an opinion that the DA hears, but
the DA runs the show," said Mike Kondash.
"I think if he went to trial he would get true life.
Id like to see a fair trial, and for him to be held
accountable."
That would have been best-case scenario. Instead,
this plea deal is a solid guarantee that Cavett will
be locked away for most of his life, at least. With
this chapter closed, perhaps it will be possible for
the victims left behind to move forward, and start

"StompOutDV"shirt

healing.
"I will stand together with my mom, whatever she thinks. In the end, all of
us will stand together, deal or no deal," Kondash said.
"Take the plea," Jessie Doyles family agreed.
Sentencing will take place at the Multnomah county court house on Monday
November 24th at 2:30 pm in room 406.
Jennie Doyle expects it to be a packed courtroom. "I, personally, ask that
those that show up please reserve the front row for Jessie's immediate
family," Jennie requested of those planning to attend the hearing.
The judge sent word that no "Stomp Out" t-shirts would be allowed in the
courtroom. The popular black shirt portrays Josh's head getting stomped on
as an anti-domestic violence statement.
"If you show up wearing that shirt you will not be allowed in the court
room," said Jennie Doyle. "However, there are benches in the hallway if you
are dead set on wearing that shirt and showing up."
(NOTE: The court has since revamped their statement, and now are

not allowing the shirt inside the building)

See also:
MurderedMotherofTwoHonoredatFundraiser October 9, 2014
MurdererJoshCavetthashisDayinCourt April 14, 2014
OregonMotherofTwoShotandKilledbyEstrangedHusband October 13, 2013
UPDATE:OregonAmberAlertCancelledforMissingTwoYearOld October 12, 2013
Posted by Thavam