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Judge delays bond decision in Koon murder case
by Cindy Pitts
Senior Reporter
Feb 08, 2013 | 3522 views | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend | print

NEWBERRY — A bond hearing was held Thursday in General Sessions Court for a man accused of murdering his wife but no decision was made in the case.

Allen Lee Koon, 43, is charged with murder in the Nov. 23, 2012, death of Cindy Koon whose body was found by a kayaker on the Broad River.

Dale Scott, deputy solicitor for the Eighth Circuit, asked that bond for Allen Koon be denied, saying his family has property in Tennessee and that he has vehicles registered there. Scott also said that multiple passports were found in Allen Koon’s house, that he travels outside the United States and has had jobs all across the country.

Scott said Koon was a flight risk and dangerous. Cindy Koon’s family also asked that bond be denied.

Koon, dressed in an orange and white jumpsuit and wearing handcuffs and shackles, did not speak during the hearing but did cry as his family asked that he be released on bond.

Defense Attorney Jack Swerling said the land and vehicles belong to Allen Koon’s father and that one of the passports found at Allen Koon’s house was not his client’s. He also said the jobs were part of Koon’s tree cutting business and the travel outside of the United States had been with his family.

Resident Circuit Judge Eugene Griffith told the court he would make a decision and let the attorneys know what it was.

Swerling and Allen Koon’s parents said he needed to be released to help provide stability for the couple’s three children, so he could work to keep the family home and that they would put up property to fund his bond.

Swerling also told the judge that Allen Koon has served in the Navy, was trained in explosive disposal, worked special service details and even had top security clearance. Scott countered that the Navy training taught the Mid-Carolina High School graduate how to evade and resist capture.

Scott said Cindy Koon was buried with just her foot sticking out. She was last seen on Thanksgiving Day and was found 10 to 12 hours after she was killed, said Scott. Investigators said her face was unrecognizable and she had suffered extreme trauma. Her cause of death was a stab to the neck.

As Newberry County sheriff’s deputies were investigating the body being found, Allen Koon reported his wife missing. He told authorities various stories, including that she had left home, that she might have a gun and shoot herself, and that she fell down stairs.

Scott said Allen Koon then stopped answering questions and asked for an attorney. Scott said the case is still under investigation and evidence is still being processed.



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