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December 5, 2005

Hargon relatives testify about effect of deaths
# Psychologist speaks of convicted murderer's use of crystal meth

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Deliberations begin today in Yazoo County Circuit Court after closing arguments from attorneys.

YAZOO CITY — Will Alexander became quiet when the prosecutor inquired about his family Sunday during the sentencing phase of the Earnest Lee Hargon capital murder trial.

"Do you have any children?" District Attorney James Powell asked.

"I do," Alexander replied, and after a long pause, said, "I have a 9-month-old son."
Powell asked how Earnest Lee Hargon — who was convicted of killing Alexander's cousin, his cousin's wife and the couple's 4-year-old son, James Patrick Hargon — affected the relationship with his own child.

Alexander said it becomes insufferable mostly at night, when he bathes his son.

"When I stick my hand up to grab his throat to keep him from going under the water, I picture Earnest Lee with his hands around James Patrick Hargon," he said, his voice wavering.

"I have fun with my son, but it's not the fun that I know I should be having."

Earnest Lee Hargon

Earnest Lee Hargon was convicted of using a gun and strangulation to kill his cousin, Michael Hargon, his wife, Rebecca Hargon and their son. The bodies were found buried in a wooded area.

For the two charges against him involving capital murder, jurors must decide whether he will receive the death penalty or spend his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Relatives testified that Earnest Lee Hargon's crime also left them with depression, panic attacks and an inability to trust others.

Defense witnesses described him as an intelligent and talented cowboy who took an unfortunate turn after he began abusing crystal methamphetamine to get him through hauling cattle over long distances.

Criss Lott, a clinical and forensic psychologist who evaluated Earnest Lee Hargon, said his biological father was abusive and violent, according to his aunt. His adoptive father, Charles Hargon, was an alcoholic and also abusive. Those who knew Earnest Lee Hargon said he did not have a history of aggressive or violent behavior. He did, however, have long-standing resentment toward some family members, although he was generally controlled, Lott said.

It was when he began the truck-driving business that things began to change, he said. "He was using a potent form of methamphetamine called 'ice' and it's a very addictive substance." Earnest Lee Hargon of Taylorsville was using the drug almost on a daily basis and up until the murders, he said.

"This substance has potential to incite or aggravate or cause an individual to become potentially violent, very aggressive. Enough of this substance, methamphetamine, can cause paranoia, psychosis."

Other defense witnesses recalled Earnest Lee Hargon's likable side.

"He was a cowboy in the true sense of the word," said Harold Parker, of Sumrall, who also worked with cattle and employed Earnest Lee Hargon for a few years. "He was extremely talented, probably about as talented of a cowboy I've ever had."

Patricia Walden of Jackson, a cousin of Earnest Lee Hargon who has been visiting him in jail, said she felt compelled to see him because "there was no one else in the family to extend love to Earnest Lee."

"Is he still your cousin?" defense attorney Andre de Gruy asked.

"Yes, he's family," she said.

But Linda Hirtz told jurors of the loss she suffered, recalling how her daughter Rebecca was born in 1975 on the living room floor, delivered by her father, at six pounds and 17 inches. She was a physical therapy assistant who grew to have a "big belly laugh."

Hirtz said she is against the death penalty, but Earnest Lee Hargon should still suffer like her family has suffered.

"He should experience many years of terror, the same terror that James Patrick felt when he saw his mother die. He should be humiliated, he should be alienated, he should be fearful. He should experience our loneliness and our depression," she said.

The slayings left Jennifer Hargon-McBride, 25, Michael Hargon's sister, with no immediate family besides her own three children. Michael had been her only sibling; their father was murdered in 1994, and their mother died three weeks ago of colon cancer.

The murders, she said, contributed to her mother's death. Diane Hargon had been in remission but still in the middle of chemotherapy treatments, Hargon-McBride said.

But when she arrived for chemotherapy after her son and his family disappeared in February 2004, doctors told her the treatment was too much for her. Her body had been overwhelmed by stress and it was struggling to heal.

They stopped the treatment, the cancer spread to her lungs and she died last month.

She told her daughter she wanted to see Earnest Lee Hargon put to death. "She couldn't handle what happened either way. It's all she thought about. It consumed her, she lost everything," Hargon-McBride said.

"All she wanted was Earnest Lee to die because he took away everything she had