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Defendant admits homicide began as a fight By Chris Bristol A man accused of stomping another man to death in a Phoenix orchard initially denied having anything to do with it, then told detectives it started as a fight. Michael Terry, who is on trial in a Jackson County courtroom this week for murder, voluntarily gave detectives a videotaped statement several days after the body of 39-year-old Kevin Elkins was discovered in an orchard off Coleman Creek Road. In his statement, he told detectives that he began fighting with Elkins after they argued about Terry�s girlfriend. He said Elkins swore at him and then grabbed his shirt. "I never let him hit me," Terry said, adding later, "I wasn�t going to let him get me." But prosecutors allege it was more than a fight � that Terry, 30, lured Elkins to the orchard and attacked him there without warning in a calculated jealous rage. A jury will decide Terry�s fate � 25 years for murder or 10 years for manslaughter. The trial has been moving faster than expected, and the jury could begin deliberating later today. In his statement, Terry said he was upset with Elkins because his girlfriend claimed Elkins had raped her. The alleged attack occurred while Terry was serving 30 days in jail on domestic-related charges. Without explaining his frame of mind at the time, Terry said he and Elkins were on their way to the orchard to do drugs when Elkins suddenly began accusing Terry�s girlfriend of being a promiscuous drunk. The argument continued once they reached the orchard, Terry said, escalating to the point where both men began swearing at each other. When Elkins grabbed him, Terry said he began punching and kicking Elkins. "I stopped kicking," Terry concluded. "He was unconscious. I ran off." But prosecutors question Terry�s version of events, alleging the "fight" was decidedly one-sided and that Terry beat and stomped Elkins so severely that he suffered four different potentially fatal injuries. In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors alleged that Terry became enraged when he found out his girlfriend had sex with Elkins and immediately began trying to find him, telling one witness he planned to "lay a world of hurt" on Elkins. Apparently, however, Terry never explicitly threatened to kill Elkins. Instead, prosecutors argue Terry�s duplicitous behavior and the severity of the beating itself proves he intended to kill Elkins all along. The defense, led by public defender Andrew Vangergaw, argues that Terry only meant to beat up Elkins and that his panicky behavior after the fact proves the crime was not planned out. Key to the state�s case is autopsy evidence. A state medical examiner is expected to testify today as to the severity of the victim�s injuries. Almost no physical evidence was seized that incriminated Terry. He was identified by a member of the victim�s family as a possible suspect in the case, and detectives recovered the stub of a paycheck in his name at the scene. Terry pleaded guilty last week to domestic assault charges for beating up his girlfriend after she told him about her alleged encounter with Elkins. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of car theft for fleeing the orchard in Elkin�s Camaro. Jurors have been told that Terry crashed the car in a ditch near the orchard � and that it was then randomly stolen again by some unwitting thieves who had no connection to the case. Reach reporter Chris Bristol at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.