Witness Says Victim Discussed Dr. Kevorkian, Often Contemplated Suicide

Assisted suicide and the controversial work of the late Dr. Jack Kevorkian were topics of testimony as the Poki Roni Ranch murder trial entered its third day at the El Paso County Courthouse.

Poki Roni owner Travis Kirchner, 58, is accused of killing his elderly mother, Patricia “Pat” Kirchner, in September 2008. Patricia Kirchner was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of one of the ranch’s homes.

The defense maintains the mother and son entered into a suicide pact.

After the prosecution rested Wednesday, defense attorney Dolph Quijano Jr. called a string of witnesses to speak to the nature of the Kirchners’ relationship and the mental and physical state of Pat Kirchner before her death.

Charlene “Charley” Applegate told the court she boarded horses at Poki Roni and knew the Kirchners for more than 30 years. She said she never witnessed any animosity between the pair.

“They lived in the same house together. They ran that business together,” Applegate said. “They were everybody’s dream, to have a horse farm. It’s what storybooks are made of.”

Applegate also testified that in the early 1990s, she would often go horseback riding with Patricia Kirchner along canals in El Paso’s Lower Valley.

The witness said that at the time, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, dubbed “Dr. Death” for his work on assisted suicide, was in the headlines.

Applegate said the topic of assisted suicide would sometimes come up during her outings with Patricia Kirchner, and that the victim told her she wished mercy killings were legal.

Another defense witness, family friend Laurie Muller, testified that in the wake of legal troubles surrounding the Poki Roni Ranch and personal health issues, Patricia Kirchner mentioned her own possible suicide.

The prosecution, however, believes Travis Kirchner plotted his mother’s death and has charged him with murder.

Before the state rested, prosecution witness Nicollete Leea told the court that the night before Patricia Kirchner’s death, she overheard Travis Kirchner say, “If I could find some way to kill my mother, I could finally leave this property.”

Leea said she took riding lessons at the ranch beginning at the age of 6, and later rented a home on the property.

During cross examination, Leea admitted that she may have heard the defendant say, “if my mother was dead,” rather than “if I could find some way to kill my mother.”

The tension between Quijano and Assistant District Attorney Rick Locke continued throughout Wednesday, with both men objecting many times during the testimony of each witness.

District Judge Mary Anne Bramblett, who at time appeared visibly annoyed, was seen rubbing her face with frustration as the day drew to an end.

The jury, made up of eight women and four men, has not been sequestered in the case. The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Friday.