(Court TV) — When April Kent suspected her former husband, Douglas Miller, of sexually molesting her two daughters, her new husband's obsession with protecting the girls drove him to kill in broad daylight outside an Orlando, Fla, restaurant. At least that's what Jason Kent claimed.

But prosecutors countered Miller was the victim of a premeditated murder, killed just weeks before Jason Kent was to be transferred by the Navy to Hawaii. Miller opposed the move and was fighting for custody of the girls, ages 9 and 6. The 35-year-old died days before a judge could hold an emergency hearing on the issue. Prosecutors said Kent, 27, stalked Miller on weekends when he told his wife he went diving, making the six-hour drive from Panama City to Orlando at least 10 times to track Miller's movements and plan his death.

On Oct. 24, 1999, Kent followed Miller to church and later to a restaurant where Miller was dining with his fiancée and her sister.

Kent went to trial in April 2002 before Judge Frederick J. Lauten and sought to convince an Orange County jury that he was not guilty by reason of insanity.

Kent: The Early Years

Jason Kent was reared in a devout and highly structured Christian family. He enjoyed doing good deeds for others, had an extremely strong sense of self-discipline and didn't have a girlfriend in high school, but was well-liked and worked hard to be a good person, even making missionary trips as a teenager.

The only child of Carol and Gene Kent, Jason decided he wanted to attend the Naval Academy at Annapolis during his sophomore year in high school. He worked hard to achieve good grades and remain physically fit, often rising at 4 a.m. to finish his schoolwork. He did not receive his appointment to the academy until two weeks before the beginning of his freshman year. When he did, he felt that God had opened a door for him. Jason's ultimate goal from an early age was to become someone of importance, and he aspired to be president of the United States.

Kent's parents testified that Jason felt a high degree of stress while at the Academy. While he was not as big as some of the other cadets, he excelled physically because he strove to outshine the other men. Jason had one very important thing going for him — he worked extremely hard. He finished in the middle of his class, 423 out of 900, graduating with the rank of ensign.

During the middle of his senior year, Kent decided he wanted to join the elite Navy Seals. According to court testimony, while Jason was one of the 32 finalists, he was not one of the final 16 chosen to enter the program. Even though he was very disappointed, Jason's parents testified that he was content that God had another purpose for him.

Jason Kent's next Navy assignment, a Nuclear Propulsion Training Program in Orlando, proved to be fateful. He began attending Sunday services at the nondenominational Northland Community Church, where he met a divorced mother of two young girls, April Miller. After a few months, the two began dating, but did not even hold hands until they decided to marry. Jason was a virgin at the time of his marriage, and he felt strongly about the bond between a husband and wife, according to April's testimony. The pair married in Orlando on August 17, 1998.

Carol and Eugene Kent both testified that April, as a divorced mother of two, was not the woman they would have selected for their son. Both said that upon meeting April they changed their minds and opened their hearts to her.

April's Past

April testified during the trial that Doug Miller made sexual advances to her when she was 15, and forced her to have sex with him. She said that because of her strict Christian morals, she had to marry him, even though he was controlling and separated her from her friends even before they married.

April said that physical and mental abuse occurred even on their honeymoon, but that she did not tell anyone. The couple left Florida and returned to California, but their problems continued and at one point she went back to Florida to stay with her family. She and Miller also lived in Kentucky for a time, but they ended up settling in Florida.

In March 1996, she did file for an order of protection, but dropped it a month later saying the couple was going to try and work out their problems.

According to court testimony and their divorce decree, Miller agreed to have supervised visitation with his children. April was to be present during all visitations, but the acrimony between them and Doug's temper made visits with the girls unpleasant.

According to local news reports, when April and Kent took the girls to Rhode Island, Miller did not see his daughters for five months. When Kent was transferred to Panama City, Miller's visits with his children were switched to a local community location called Family Ties, a court sanctioned location in Orlando that provides supervised visitation. Twice a month he and April made the six-hour trip to Orlando so the girls could visit their father.

But not wanting the girls to be taken out of state again, Miller filed a motion to stop the girls from going to Hawaii. April requested an emergency hearing to settle the custody issue, which scheduled for the first week of November 1999, a week after the killing.

April Kent also testified about another element she said was crucial in providing a motive for Jason to protect the children. She said that her daughter Chelsea told her about a dream she had in which her father inserted a knife into her sister Hannah's "pee-pee."

The Murder

Jason Kent left his wife at least 10 weekends during their 13-month marriage. Under the ruse of going diving alone, the then 25-year-old made the six-hour drive to Orlando to stalk Doug Miller.

On Sunday, October 24, 1999, Kent followed Miller to church services at Calvery Chapel, and later to the Sweet Tomatoes restaurant, where Miller had a late lunch with his fiancee, Magalie Pelletier and her sister.

When Miller returned to his car to get some aspirin powder for one of the women, several witnesses say Kent ambushed him in the parking lot, using two semi-automatic 9mm guns. Four bullets struck Miller in the back as he ran for his life and he collapsed on the sidewalk. Three additional bullets hit the minivan of a passing motorist, Toni Lewis. Police investigators recovered nine spent shell casings. Kent left the scene in his rented green Chevy Blazer, even stopping for a red traffic light. He was pulled over and captured by an Orange County sheriff's deputy at a nearby shopping center.

Among the items found in the rented green Blazer when Kent was taken into custody were two 9mm guns and ammunition, knives, maps, cinderblocks, a lock picking kit, home made silencers, a sock wrapped around a wire hangar to catch spent shell casings, surgical gloves, a corrosive solvent, rope, tarps, heavy tape, a crow bar, a phone book page with the listing of Miller's church and a saw.

Kent also had the original Georgia license plate that was on the car at the time he rented it. After arriving in Orlando, Kent stole a Florida license plate and put it on the vehicle. Investigators also found a "to do" list Kent had written.

The State's Case

Prosecutors say that Jason Kent was not crazy when he killed Douglas Miller, just angry. They contend Miller was the victim of a premeditated murder, killed just weeks before Jason Kent was to be transferred to Hawaii. Miller opposed the move and was fighting for custody of the girls. An emergency hearing had been scheduled in family court for the week following the shooting.

Prosecutors say that Kent stalked Miller on the weekends when he told his wife he was deep sea diving; instead he made the six-hour drive from Panama City, Florida to Orlando, at least 10 times to track Miller's movements and plan his death.

The Defense's Case

The defense says Kent's obsession with protecting the girls from sexual abuse by a violent man drove him to kill in broad daylight outside the Sweet Tomatoes restaurant.

Defense attorney Bill Barnett, and his psychiatric expert, Dr. E. Michael Gutman, say Jason Kent was insane at the time of the shooting. Gutman said that Kent suffered from delusional paranoid disorder, and therefore lacked criminal responsibility.

Kent believed he was on a God-given mission to save the children, they say. Barnett said in his opening and closing that Kent was waiting for God to give him a sign that would take away the burden of shooting Miller. Kent felt that he was the avenging angel and protector of the children, and that he had a deadline because he was leaving for Hawaii, so he had to kill Doug Miller when he did.

The Verdict