Published: April 13, 2007 11:37 pm      

Grand jury to hear Todd muder case

LEXINGTON — A Fayette County grand jury will hear the case against John W. Todd Jr., who is charged with killing his wife and holding his brother, Richmond Register Editor Jim Todd, hostage at gunpoint.

A preliminary hearing was held Thursday in Fayette County District Court for John Todd, 62, of Lexington. The case was waived to the grand jury following testimony from Lexington Police Detective Chris Schoonover, a Fayette County District Court deputy clerk said.

Schoonover testified that Lynn Todd, 48, was found dead in the basement of the couple’s Darien Drive home on March 7 after police learned of the shooting from Todd’s pastor, according to a local media report. Lynn Todd was shot with a .38-caliber revolver in the neck, head and hand, Schoonover said.

Fayette District Judge Megan Lake Thornton ordered that John Todd’s $500,000 cash bond remain intact, notwithstanding requests from his defense attorney, Kate Dunn, to lower the bond. Todd is lodged in the Fayette County Detention Center.

After allegedly shooting his wife, John Todd then came to the Richmond Register and waited for his brother to arrive at work. He then told Jim Todd he was having “marital problems” and had shot his wife to death the night before following a domestic dispute.

For an hour and a half, John Todd held the editor hostage after telling him he had come to kill him.

“He said he knew he would be dead sometime today and that’s why he had come to kill me,” Jim Todd said previously.

Schoonover testified that notes written by John Todd were found at the crime scene with instructions on how to pay John Todd’s bills and how to handle his will, according to a local media report.

John Todd faces charges in Madison County of first-degree unlawful imprisonment and first-degree wanton endangerment for the incident at the Richmond Register.

Neither Richmond Police nor the Madison County Attorney’s office were able to provide the current status of the local charges Friday afternoon. Fayette County Commonwealth Attorney Ray Larson also was unavailable to discuss plans for the murder case against John Todd.

Kelly Foreman can be reached at kforeman@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.