Convicted Rapist Says He Acted Alone

A Seattle man convicted of brutally attacking a 27-year-old woman, then leaving her for dead last May, has told a court he acted alone and without the encouragement of an alleged accomplice.

Kevin L. Smith is serving a 100-year prison sentence for abducting, raping and stabbing Connie Freeburn, who was left brain-damaged and partly paralyzed.

King County prosecutors say 23-year-old Remus Jordan of Seattle played a significant role. Jordan is on trial in King County Superior Court on charges of first-degree attempted murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kathy Goater on Thursday produced Smith’s 55-page confession, which implicated Jordan in the crimes. But Smith said he was angry at Jordan when he wrote the confession, because he had heard Jordan had cooperated with police.

When asked by prosecutors whether he committed the abduction, rape and attempted murder on his own, Smith replied matter-offactly, “Yes.”

Goater contends Jordan helped trap Freeburn in a car and did nothing to discourage Smith’s actions.

Jordan and Smith were walking through Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood late May 7 when they saw Freeburn drive up to her apartment building and begin unloading her car.

Smith grabbed her and pushed her into the back seat while Jordan sat in the front passenger seat, the prosecution says. Smith eventually raped Freeburn, then drove to a Kent high school where he repeatedly stabbed her with a screwdriver Jordan had given him.

Freeburn, bloodied and unconscious, was discovered the next day by a passerby.

Under questioning, Smith acknowledged that Jordan stole Freeburn’s money and left twice to buy beer.

But he said he couldn’t recall having heard Jordan threaten to kill Freeburn.

Smith did admit, however, that Jordan handed him the screwdriver shortly before the attack, waited in the car - holding Smith’s beer - during the attack and advised him to drive slowly afterward to avoid detection.