Attorney: Accused was too frail to kill

Attorney: 65-year-old too frail to have killed daughter

The defense attorney for a 65-year-old Santa Fe man who is accused of stabbing and beating his daughter to death says his client was too frail to carry out the violent crime. In court late last week, William Kelley pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the January 2015 death of his daughter, 30-year-old Julieanne Kelley.

William Kelley was arrested May 16 after a lengthy investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

Santa Fe District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer imposed a $100,000 cash or surety bond, meaning Kelley could gain release from the Santa Fe County jail with $10,000 cash. Jail records show he was released Tuesday.

If he makes bond, Kelley must stay on electronic monitoring and can leave the house for appointments and groceries if he gives the electronic monitoring office enough notice. Jury selection is scheduled for November.

William Kelley called 911 in the middle of the night Jan. 16, 2015 and said his daughter left the mobile home they shared on Callejon de Rita off Agua Fria after an argument and was missing. Deputies later found Julieanne’s body in the southeast corner of the Kelley property surrounded by a large amount of blood. An autopsy revealed that she died from 30 to 35 “stab and chop wounds,” and blunt force trauma. William Kelley was identified by the sheriff’s office as a person of interest early on, but he always denied any involvement.

Kelley used a wheelchair for his court arraignment and was never forced to stand by the judge. Kelley’s attorney, Tony Scarborough, said Kelley was physically unable to deliver the kind of blows that killed Julieanne and said he weighs only about 130 pounds now. “He’s very frail, and he was frail at the time this happened,” Scarborough said.