Mixed-up plea begets murder charge

BOSTON. A Suffolk Superior Court judge yesterday refused to accept a guilty plea from a Dorchester woman who unexpectedly introduced a new version of how and why she killed her brother last year.

Kathy Booth, 43, had agreed to plea guilty to second degree murder for the June 1, 2006, stabbing death of her brother, Keith Payne, in the home of the siblings’ mothers.

But, with her five sisters looking on in tears, Booth told Judge Thomas E. Connolly that the state’s case was not entirely accurate and that she “blacked out” during the incident.

“When I stabbed Keith I didn’t realize what I had done. I was hysterical,” said Booth, who listed a litany of drugs she takes to treat bi-polar disorder and manic depression, medications she was off in the weeks leading to the killing.

After a sidebar session, Connolly told an unsuspecting Booth, “Ms. Booth, we will not be able to accept your guilty plea at this time,” and set forth a schedule for a first degree murder trial.

The state claimed an unstable Booth told family members before the alleged crime that she could kill and, because of her mental state, get away with it, according to court documents.

During the evening of the incident, Payne urinated on the toilet seat, setting off a clash with an enraged Booth, prosecutors said. Booth told Connolly the two were arguing about his drug use and he choked her before she plunged a knife in his heart.

Defense attorney William White said yesterday’s development was “a little bit of a surprise,” but was prepared to defend his client in trial. The state is moving forward, as well.

“We’re prepared to bring the matter to trial ... and we remain confident in our ability to prove the defendant’s guilt,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.