Hurst sentenced to life in prison

Circuit Judge Paul Braden sentenced a Frakes man to spend the rest of his life behind bars with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years during a sentencing hearing Tuesday morning in Whitley Circuit Court.

“Teddy has had a long history of various crimes and incidents where physical force was used and has convictions for that,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble. “We believe he is a dangerous person.At least 25 years incarceration is not too much for Teddy.”

Trimble said he has no idea what the law will be 25 years from now, but said that if he is still alive, he will certainly be opposing Hurst getting any kind of parole.

“He will remain a threat,” Trimble added.

On Sept. 23, Teddy Keith Hurst, 40, avoided a capital murder trial where he could have received the death penalty by pleading guilty to capital murder, first-degree burglary, three counts of criminal attempt to commit murder, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.

Shortly after 7 a.m. on April 4, 2007, Hurst allegedly kicked in the door of a Lot Mud Creek Road home, and shot through the walls with an M-1 rifle injuring three people, Jerry Prewitt, Quinton Michael Prewitt, and Deborah Lynn Dople, who all jumped out a window.

Hurst then allegedly shot Quinton Cecil Prewitt, 82, twice in the head with a .22 caliber pistol, Kentucky State Police Detective Colan Harrell testified during an April 2007 hearing.
Quinton Cecil Prewitt had been out of the nursing home for less than one week when the shooting occurred, and was both blind and deaf, Harrell said.

All three surviving victims identified Hurst as the shooter, and a Kentucky State Police Special Response Team found Hurst about five to six hours later in the woods about 300 to 400 yards from the scene of the shooting, police said.

Hurst had a .22 caliber pistol in a holster on his side, and a .30 caliber M-1 rifle “in the area with him” when he was arrested, Harrell testified.

Hurst gave police a nearly 45 minute long statement.

“He didn’t admit to the case. He said he was in the woods bird watching,” Harrell testified last year.

Hurst’s attorney, Jane Butcher, told Braden that her client has “great remorse” over the killing.
Braden inquired about a statement Hurst made while entering his guilty plea where he said something about the deceased victim being shot by mistake.

Butcher explained that while her client “went in shooting” it was at other people in the home, but not the victim, who died.

Trimble said that had the case been tried, the evidence would have been that Hurst drove to the victim’s residence on a four-wheeler with a ski mask on his face.

“He came in, I believe, with every intention to kill everybody that walked in that house to do harm to everybody he could see or come in contact with,” Trimble said.

“The victim was both deaf and blind, so he was completely defenseless to what went on. He shot three other people while he was in there. His intention when he broke into that house was to kill everybody that was there.”

Trimble said that Hurst has claimed there was some romantic relationship between his girlfriend and one of the men living in the house.

“We have no evidence that was the truth,” Trimble said.

Braden credited Hurst with 595 days in jail that he has already served, and ordered him to pay $125 court costs if he is ever released from prison.