Thursday, June 29, 2000 Older Editions

Andover doctor faces zero to 20 years for shooting

By Neil Fater

A juror in the James Kartell murder trial says it was the second deadly shot fired by Kartell that landed the Andover plastic surgeon in jail.

Now, Kartell sits in Middleton House of Corrections, waiting for July 19, when he'll learn if he'll face probation or up to 20 years in prison.

Cuffed -- A court officer takes James Kartell into custody, after a jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter last Friday.

Kartell was convicted of voluntary manslaughter by a jury last Friday morning for shooting to death Janos Vajda -- a man his estranged wife has said she planned to marry.

After a struggle, Kartell shot Vajda twice, first in the stomach, and then in the back of the head. It was the shot to the head that convinced everyone on the jury to convict Kartell of voluntary manslaughter, says one juror.

"The second shot is basically what buried this guy. Any thought he had about self-defense (was ended)," said the juror, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "He had plenty of opportunity to walk away after that first shot, and he didn't."

This individual said that when the jury began deliberating, the majority wanted to convict Kartell of first-degree murder, while a minority believed the prosecution had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

"What happened after that was three and a half days of intensive back-and-forth to try to sway sides," says the juror.

(For now, the juror said he or she wanted to limit comments about the trial to avoid influencing any planned appeal, but will speak to the Townsman for attribution once the sentence is handed down on July 19.)

"The defendant did something that was undeniable. He took two shots," says the juror. "It was that second shot that we went into big depth on.

"There was a lot of concern with what we were doing. It's not every day you sit in judgment on someone's life. The guy's 61 years old," says the juror.

The jury entered deliberations Monday afternoon, June 19, and did not hand down its decision until Friday, June 23. But as the days wore on, Prosecutor Fred McAlary's confidence began to grow.

"From my past experience, the longer it went on, the more likely it was that it was going to (be a conviction)," says McAlary. "If they were buying into the self-defense argument, they would have come back within a day or two.

"This was a compromise," said McAlary. "It was something they could all live with."

McAlary says he was happy with the verdict, considering his "star witness," Kartell's estranged wife Suzan Kamm, refused to testify by invoking spousal immunity.

Following the guilty verdict, the daughters of Janos Vajda reportedly filed a $3-million wrongful-death suit. The Eagle-Tribune lists Kartell, Kamm and Holy Family Hospital, where the shooting occurred, as defendants in the suit.

The Vajdas politely declined comment during the murder trial.

Sentencing

McAlary and defense attorney J.W. Carney are currently preparing for the July 19 sentencing, when they'll ask Judge Isaac Borenstein for what they feel are appropriate sentences.

"It's going to be interesting on the 19th," says McAlary. "We haven't investigated all of the facts and figures, but I'm sure we'll be asking for double figures, 12 to 20 or 15-20 years.

"Keep in mind he has to do every day of the lower number," he says. "This is truth in sentencing. If I asked for 12-20 and got it, he would do 12 years."

Kartell will listen to the daughters of the man he shot, and a former work associate, speak on July 19 about how long he should be locked up for killing Vajda.

"They'll be available to testify. I believe the daughters are going to speak as is their right under the victims bill of rights, and I believe a spokesman from the hospital will testify. I believe it will be (president) William Lane, because the hospital is also a victim in this case," said McAlary.

McAlary also plans to ask Judge Isaac Borenstein to consider the past activities of both Vajda and Kartell. "We were very handicapped at trial, so the jury knew very little about Janos Vajda and the good deeds he'd done," he says.

The judge

While Borenstein himself has said he's known as a lenient judge, McAlary indicates he isn't concerned the public will see that side of Borenstein in the Kartell case, a case where someone has died.

"I think he readily admits that (he's lenient), but also, he was extremely fair," says McAlary. "After a three-week trial, that's a whole different ballgame, and I think he'd admit that as well."

Andover child psychologist Larry Larsen also says Borenstein can be tough, noting he has seen him try youths as adults. Before Borenstein became a Superior Court judge, Larsen appeared in his court more than 10 times as an expert witness.

"I don't see him as a pushover," says Larsen. "He moved over (youths) to adults, if that was in the public interest."

Like some lawyers and journalists who have seen Borenstein in action before, Larsen has praise for the judge.

"I found him to be impeccable with respect to law. He always wanted to get not only the meaning of the law, but the spirit as well. I think he was a man with great compassion," says Larsen.

Larsen also says the judge tends to be more forgiving of people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"He has a sense of appreciating poverty and the forces that come to bear on people's lives," says Larsen. "My hunch is he will not be overwhelmingly sympathetic with privilege."