Testimony wraps up in murder trial over Palm Springs senior citizen’s slaying

Testimony wrapped up today in the murder trial of a man accused of killing a 74-year-old Palm Springs resident by driving a hatchet into his head seven times.

Attorneys are expected to deliver closing arguments late next week in the trial of Jason William Brokken, who is accused of killing Kenneth R. Moody on Jan. 21, 2012. Moody’s body was found inside a garbage bag the next day on the side of Rudderow Lane in Sky Valley.

The 52-year-old defendant, who reportedly moved to Palm Springs from the Santa Barbara area just weeks prior to Moody’s death, is charged with murder and a sentence-enhancing weapon-use allegation.

Police and prosecutors allege that Brokken, who was temporarily staying at a residence near Moody’s, visited the victim at his home on Gem Drive and asked if he could use Moody’s shower, then killed him in his bedroom.

When Moody’s body was found, investigators found a phone bill leading them to his residence, where they found clothing stained with blood and “DNA blood evidence” in and around Brokken’s van, all of which allegedly matched Moody’s, according to the prosecution.

Deputy District Attorney Antonio Fimbres said the defendant made statements to police, in which he initially denied owning the van and said that he got along well with Moody.

“At the end of this case, I want you to look at Jason Brokken’s actions, because his words to police, when asked about this case, was that `I have no problem with Ken Moody. I have no beef with Ken Moody,”’ Fimbres said in his opening statement. “But his actions tell you different. The evidence
will tell you different.”

Brokken’s attorney, Cameron Quinn, said Brokken did like Moody, as he told investigators, and had recently moved to the Coachella Valley with the prospects of a new job and school at CSUSB’s Palm Desert campus, all of which came “to a screeching halt.”

Quinn alleged that Moody drugged Brokken with ketamine and made “inappropriate sexual advances that Jason tried to resist, but was unable.” Quinn did not specify whether the alleged drugging occurred on the day Moody was killed.

“The prosecutor referred to actions. What were (Brokken’s) actions? His actions were reactions to actions initiated by Mr. Moody,” Quinn told the jury.