September 2, 1997 - Grand Jury Meets Today
A Greene County Grand Jury is expected to meet today to consider evidence in the Lillelid murders. Three members of a Knox County family, Vidar, Delphinia, and Tabitha Lillelid, died last April after they were gunned down on a gravel road near Baileyton. The couple's two year old son, Peter, was seriously injured in the shooting, but is reportedly improving after treatment in Sweden, where he is living in the custody of his aunt. Four adults and two juveniles from Kentucky are charged with First Degree Murder in the expected indictment. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty for the adults and life in prison for the juveniles, if convicted in the incident. Attorneys for the six suspects say they expect their clients to be indicted, but plan to file a series of motions in the case. Among the motions expected is one to move the trial to another location and to suppress statements the suspects gave after they were arrested. The suspects were apprehended near the Mexico border two days after the shootings. The suspects were driving the victim's van., and a car registered to the parent of one of the suspects was found stuck near the murder scene. In the period following the crime, some relatives and friends of the suspects spoke about the accuseds' interest in the occult and portrayed eighteen year old Natasha Cornett as the group's ringleader.