PHOENIX, Ariz. (Court TV) — An Arizona woman faces a potential death sentence if she’s convicted of plotting the murders of her spouse and in-laws.
Kimberly LaCount is accused of arranging for her lover, Kipling Harris, to murder her wife and in-laws. (Phoenix Police Dept./Arizona Dept. of Corrections)
Kimberly Marie LaCount is charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of her spouse, Alex Kuhn, and mother-in-law, Peggy Kuhn, who were both shot to death on the family’s property. Alex’s father, Robert Kuhn, was also shot but survived his injuries.
LaCount was also home at the time of the murders, along with the couple’s two minor children, but prosecutors say LaCount was the mastermind behind the violent scene.
According to LaCount’s defense, Alex was born Alice and had been undergoing a gender transition for several years, during which Kim had been a source of emotional support.
At the time of the murders, Alex and LaCount were living with Alex’s parents in Glendale. On June 6, 2016, a gunman approached Alex and LaCount while they were sitting in a Jeep parked on the family’s property and fired into the vehicle, killing Alex. The gunman then went into the family home and shot Peggy and Robert in the head, killing Peggy.
Investigators quickly zeroed in on the gunman: Kipling Harris, who had been having an affair with LaCount for several months. Texts between the two allegedly revealed that LaCount had been coordinating with Harris, including mentions of finding a key to a safe with an old revolver and saying she “had a plan worked out to the finest detail.”
Prosecutors say on the day of the murders, LaCount arranged for her adult son to drive Harris to the Kuhn’s property and act as the getaway driver after the shooting. LaCount’s son, who cooperated with the police and denied knowledge of the plan, was not charged.
Harris was convicted by a jury on charges of murder, attempted murder and burglary and was sentenced to life in prison on June 14, 2023.
In court documents, police said that LaCount admitted “she had solicited several other men over the years to kill Alice, but no one would carry it out until Kipling came along,” and said that she provided the weapon used in the murders from her father-in-law’s gun safe.
Prosecutors have filed a motion seeking the death penalty if LaCount is convicted.
Editor’s note: This story initially referred to victim Alex Kuhn by their given name and gender, and was updated to reflect their preferences.
