LOS ANGELES – Notorious New York grifter Sante Kimes sobbed in court yesterday as her once-loyal son Kenneth Kimes calmly told riveted jurors how she orchestrated a cold-blooded murder.
Handcuffed at his stomach and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Kenneth Kimes made virtually no eye contact with Sante Kimes as he told jurors how the murdering mom allegedly orchestrated David Kazdin’s death.
The mother-and-son duo had taken out a fraudulent land loan against Kazdin’s name, and the L.A. businessman had discovered the scam when Sante Kimes ordered him dead, Kenneth Kimes said.
“The words that stuck out most in my mind is that she said ‘We’re going to have to kill him,’ ” Kenneth Kimes told a captivated court audience.
Almost on cue, Sante Kimes, 69, then let out an audible sob before Deputy DA Eleanor Hunter could ask the 28-year-old Kimes how he reacted to his mom’s alleged murderous request.
“I felt exhausted,” Kenneth Kimes said. “With her saying that, I knew the responsibility of that act [killing Kazdin] was going to fall on me.”
As Kenneth Kimes laid out details of the $280,000 land-and-loan scam on Kazdin, he eventually began to cry. He struggled against cuffs to bring his undershirt up his watering eyes.
In the audience, Kazdin’s daughter Linda Kazdin also sobbed during testimony, as her brother Steve consoled her.
Yesterday’s testimony marked the first time Sante and Kenneth Kimes had seen each other since the once-loyal son agreed to help prosecutors late last year. Kenneth Kimes pleaded guilty to Kazdin’s murder in exchange for his testimony and for not getting the death penalty.