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Death, hers and his, in question

Potential jurors are asked about the death penalty in the case of a grisly stabbing.

By JOSE CARDENAS, Times Staff Writer
Published October 17, 2007

Timothy Permenter reads over a list of potential jurors during jury selection on Tuesday. He is charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend.
	[Joseph Garnett, Jr. | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT Karen Pannell was found stabbed to death in her Oldsmar townhouse in October 2003.

Potential jurors were questioned about their views on the death penalty on Tuesday as the trial began for a man accused of murdering his girlfriend in Oldsmar four years ago.

Timothy Permenter, 40, is accused of stabbing Karen Pannell 16 times in the Montego Court townhouse where she lived.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty because the slaying of the 39-year-old American Airlines employee was particularly heinous and cruel.

In addition, Permenter was on probation at the time of the slaying and has a significant criminal record of violence.

Permenter was sentenced in 1991 to 20 years in prison on charges that include attempted first-degree murder, racketeering and kidnapping. He was paroled on Sept. 1, 2002.

Jurors first must decide whether Permenter is guilty of Pannell's death during what is expected to be a four-day trial.

"As a juror, you have to follow the law," Assistant State Attorney Bill Loughery told the potential jurors. "The law says there are some cases in which the death penalty is appropriate."

Permenter told Pinellas sheriff's detectives that he left Pannell's townhouse on Oct. 10, 2003, then returned the next day and found her body. But statements from a pizza deliveryman and a friend of Permenter's were inconsistent with his account of the night of the murder.

Forensic specialists also found Permenter's DNA in tissue pulled from under Pannell's fingernails. Cell phone tower records also showed Permenter was near Pannell's home that night.

Detectives also said Permenter wrote the name of Pannell's ex-boyfriend in blood on her wall. That man does not live in the area and had an alibi for that night.

Circuit Judge Timothy Peters asked the 48 potential jurors to rate their support for the death penalty on a scale of 1 to 10. He asked if they could be fair and impartial regardless of their views.

Most people said they could be impartial. A handful said death should never be a punishment. One person said anyone who takes a person's life should be executed.

Senior Assistant Public Defender Dudley Clapp warned jurors not to prematurely judge the case despite the discussion of the death penalty.

"Do any feel that because we've spent all this time on potential penalty ... that guilty is a foregone conclusion?" Clapp asked.

"There's kind of a feeling of guilty through the whole room," answered one potential juror.

Clapp revealed some details about the crime scene to test whether jurors would be inclined to vote for the death penalty. "It is about 15 stab wounds," said Clapp. "Karen Pannell was in her 30s. She was a beautiful and vibrant young woman."

Said one potential juror: "I couldn't let myself in any way be responsible for taking someone else's life."

Opening arguments are scheduled for this morning.

Prosecutors plan to present DNA evidence as well as cell phone tower records that indicate Permenter was near Pannell's home when he said he was not.

Jose Cardenas can be reached at 445-4224 or jcardenas@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 16, 2007, 21:28:21]