Many of you will recall my two-part story earlier this year about David and Jennifer Beaird, the Warrenton couple whose two children were killed last Labor Day when a drunk plowed into the back of their car on I-70 in Blue Springs.
Today, I spoke with David, who was left paralyzed from the chest down, and he told me about a development in the case.
A few weeks ago, he said, the Jackson County prosecutor’s office informed him and Jennifer that prosecutors had reached a plea agreement with the defendant, 61-year-old James L. Green of Odessa. The deal, subject to the Beairds’ approval, was for a 25-year sentence, with Green having to serve a minimum of 80 percent, or 20 years.
The Beairds thought about it for a couple of days and then called the prosecutor’s office and accepted the deal.
Green, who has three prior DUI convictions, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder (murder, rather than manslaughter, because of the aggravating circumstance of intoxication) and two counts of assault. He has been in the Jackson County Regional Correctional Center since the crash.
Killed upon impact were 13-year-old Gavin and 7-year-old Chloe. They were seated in the back of the Beairds’ car when Green plowed into them while they were stuck in eastbound traffic near the Adams Dairy Parkway exit. Green told police he had been looking at his phone, thumbing through his music list and that his car was on cruise control.
David and Jennifer Beaird
David said he didn’t know the exact correlation of charges and sentencing but that the deal was for a total of 25 years. He said it was his understanding Green would formally enter the plea in June, when Green is next scheduled to appear in court. (I have a call into a spokesman with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office to see if the spokesman will verify what David told me.)
Although a longer sentence might seem more appropriate, 20 years may well be a life sentence for Green. “He’s in his early 60s and in poor health,” David said.
James L. Green
Poor health would be understandable, given that he’s probably been an alcoholic for more than 25 years…His first DUI conviction came in 1991 in Jackson County. The others were in 1997 and 2009.
**
When I visited them in February, the Beairds (pronounced Beard) were planning to sell their Warrenton home and move to upstate New York, the area that was home to Jennifer’s family for many years.
They have put their home up for sale, but David, who is 40, said they were now leaning toward moving to Myrtle Beach, SC, partly because the warm climate might make life easier for him. Jennifer’s mother, Kathy Gordon, who has been living with them in Warrenton, would continue living with them wherever they go.
Jennifer, 38, is still managing the H&R Block tax preparation office in Warrenton and will continue to work long hours for the next couple of weeks, through the end of tax season. After that, the couple will focus on selling the house and preparing to move.
David said a recent trip to visits relatives in Missouri’s Bootheel served as something of an experiment on how he could negotiate logistical challenges. It went well and gave him a shot of confidence in his ability to function relatively normally “away from the comforts of home.”
Asked how he was coping overall, he said, “slow and steady.” To help pass time, he has taken up drawing and sketching.
“I try to stay real busy and not think about things,” he said.
**
Here are the links to my two earlier stories on this case.
https://jimmycsays.com/2017/02/11/jennifer-beaird-im-running-away/
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Jim:
I admire your courage and persistence in staying with this story. There are signs of hope in this latest edition. What brave people the Beairds are.
Laura
Very true, Laura. I admire them, too, for their bravery and perseverance in the face of unfathomable tragedy.
Thanks for the update. Good work, Fitz.
I appreciate the compliment, Tracy.
I’m amazed at their candor and attitude. All I can say is this was a gut-wrenching story…gave me a knot in the pit of my stomach from the outset. Glad you’ve gotten an update and that the Beairds seem to be keeping their lives going.
Thanks for the update. This family is inspiring.
If Green is in poor health, government-run healthcare should have him in a box long before 20 years is up. Good work, Fitz.
Heartbreaking doesn’t begin to describe it. I hope they decide on Myrtle Beach; there’s something about the sea that is healing (spiritually and physically).
I don’t quite understand the “logistical challenges”?
I hadn’t thought that through, about the soothing effect of the sea, but you’re absolutely right. They’re talking about buying a house a few blocks from the beach.
Thank you again for writing this story. Twenty years doesn’t seem like enough time for what this man has done but at his age he probably will spend the rest of his life behind bars. I imagine the Beairds just want this part of the story behind them so they can try and rebuild their lives somehow. Myrtle Beach sounds like a good place to try a new way forward. As we stated after your last article, we think of them daily and we probably always will. We wish them peace as they move ahead. Lynne and Rob Genau
Good to hear from you again, Lynne. I hope your son is doing well.
We are all doing well, thank you. I have been enjoying your blog.
Thanks for reading, Lynne.
Thanks for following this story. I live right at that exit and was not far behind on I 70 that evening. I think of the Beairds often even though I do not know them, was looking for info on the drunk driver and what charges he is facing when I stumbled upon your article. Thank you! And hopefully, although I’m sure they wish a stranger had no reason to be curious about them, I hope they know their story isn’t just a forgotten news story in the mass of daily news.
That’s exactly why I found this story compelling from the outset, Holly — the possibility that the mainstream news would hit it hard the first day and then let it dribble away in that “mass of daily news.” This is a story that deserved strong follow-up. It could have been you; it could have been me; it could have been any number of us driving along, obeying the law and crushed by a drunk who had nothing to live for and no reason to be looking out for the welfare of anyone else — and had a deadly weapon under his control.
Holly and Jim – I couldn’t agree with you more. This story just disappeared,. When you say it could have been me; it could have been you; it almost was. Green totaled our son’s car after he hit the Beaird’s car. We were pestered by tv reporters for a few days but then the story went away. I had been trying to find out more about Green and the Beaird family and there was no new information available until Jim published this story. We had a vested interest in seeing Mr. Green punished so he couldn’t do this to anyone else. More media coverage might have made a few people stop and think before they drink and drive and use their phones while driving. That is why we wrote the letter to the KC Star. Maybe that’s wishful thinking on our part. But you can’t go through something like this and not be angry. People just need to think. The guilty are not the ones that usually pay the price, as we all know.