Sante and Kenneth Kimes Trial: 2000

When the trial opened, February 15, 2000, Connie Fernandez, assistant district attorney, outlined the charges, describing an elaborate plot in which the Kimeses sought to steal the townhouse-apartment building. Evidence included testimony that Sante had called a title company and checked liens on the property. Testimony demonstrated that Sante, posing as Silverman, duped a notary into approving the fraudulent deed that transferred the ownership of the townhouse to a Kimes-owned corporation in Florida for a payment of $395,000, a fraction of its value.

Fernandez argued that they decided to kill Silverman when she sought to have them evicted. Their hope was to dispose of the body and to buy enough time to complete the transfer of the property. A fraud investigator testified that the Social Security card used by Sante Kimes to establish her identity as Silverman for the notary had originally been issued two years before to an infant. A former employee of the Kimeses learned that he was named as the head of the firm set up in Florida as a part of the conspiracy.

Although all of the evidence appeared to support the convoluted scheme outlined by the prosecution, there was no direct proof that the Kimeses had committed a murder. The Kimeses's attorneys denied all charges. The strongest element of the defense was that no murder could be proven. There was no blood, no DNA evidence. The motive for the killing was not clear, and none could be proven. If there had been a scheme to defraud Silverman of her townhouse, her unexplained disappearance did not appear to be a logical part of such a scheme. Neither Sante nor Kenneth testified at the trial. Frequently they held hands, but were admonished by the judge to desist.

When prosecutors introduced testimony that Kenneth Kimes had been involved in a fraud in the Bahamas, both defense attorneys and prosecutors sought to separate the trial of Kenneth and Sante Kimes.

However, Judge Rena Uviller denied the motions.