Virginia Beach man convicted in murder-for-hire plot

VIRGINIA BEACH

A jury convicted Edmund A. Kutauskas in Circuit Court on Friday of plotting to kill a Virginia Beach police detective and recommended sentencing him to eight years in prison.

The 55-year-old former auto body repairman faced up to a 40-year sentence in prison after being found guilty of solicitation to commit murder. Kutauskas was arrested Aug. 11 after his girlfriend told police he wanted her to pay traveling expenses for a New York hit man to kill Detective Adam Detamore.

The detective had investigated and charged the couple in thefts from Sam's Club over the summer. They pleaded guilty to those charges last month.

Detamore was among the witnesses who testified during Kutauskas' two-day trial. Afterward, he said he was satisfied with the jury's decision.

Kutauskas showed no reaction to the verdict, and he was le d from the courtroom in handcuffs after hearing the recommended sentence. Formal sentencing was set for Feb. 18.

Kutauskas and his defense attorney, Allyson Lee, had tried to convince the jury that he never intended to arrange the

contract killing, and that it was Denise Kutauskas, the live-in girlfriend who took Kutauskas' name, who was behind the plot.

During a recorded phone call with his girlfriend on Aug. 11 that was played in court, Kutauskas tells her to bring money to help pay the hit man. He testified it was a ruse to get money from her.

That recording, however, was used by prosecutors Scott Lang and Wendy Alexander, and they often reminded jurors of Kutauskas' statements, which included identifying Detamore by name and saying he would be "taken out of the picture by tomorrow night."

During cross-examination Friday, Kutauskas admitted that he had lied repeatedly to police during their investigation of the Sam's Club thefts. He also testified he wouldn't mind if someone dragged Detamore into "an alley and roughed him up." A few punches that left the detective bruised would suffice, Kutauskas testified. "I wouldn't feel bad if it happened."

Kutauskas acknowledged knowing a "Frankie the Hat," whom he had referred to in the recorded phone call with his girlfriend. The real Frankie, Kutauskas testified, was an old drinking buddy in New York who was rumored to be a hit man, but he died in 1995.

During the phone call, Kutauskas told his girlfriend that Frankie's son - "a professional" - had already located Detamore.

"Just give me the cash, and I'll take care of the rest," Kutauskas said.

The whereabouts of $20,000 withdrawn from Kutauskas' bank account the week before he was arrested remains unknown.

Kutauskas claimed he stored the cash in a safe deposit box and his girlfriend withdrew it. Bank officials testified there was no record of the box being accessed.

"It's scary to think of that $20,000 that is unaccounted for..." Lang said. "It was financing the killing of Detective Detamore."

After the jury announced its verdict, Detamore's wife, Crystal, took the witness stand to describe the effect the case has had on her family.

She said anxiety causes her to sleep less than four hours a night, and she's constantly afraid for her family's safety.

Kutauskas told jurors even the minimum five-year sentence would mean he'd likely die in prison because of his poor health.

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com