After a last-minute rant in which he called the victim's mother "a drunk" and the prosecution "a circus," James Mitchell was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison Tuesday for murdering his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping their baby in Novato.
Judge Kelly Simmons handed down the maximum sentence after rejecting Mitchell's motion to fire his lawyer, Stuart Hanlon, and seek a new trial.
The hearing in Marin Superior Court included a videotaped photo montage of the murder victim, 29-year-old Danielle Keller, and a tearful statement by her mother, Claudia Stevens.
"His flagrant dismissal of the law cost my daughter her life," said Stevens, wearing a red dress that belonged to the victim. "This man-child didn't
care about anything but what he wanted. And if he can't get what he wants, he takes it."
Mitchell, an heir to the Mitchell Brothers adult entertainment fortune, complained that he was treated unfairly by authorities and a sensationalist media because of the family business.
His father, Jim Mitchell, and uncle, Artie Mitchell, were partners in the porn and strip-club empire until Jim killed Artie in 1991. Jim Mitchell was convicted of manslaughter in Marin Superior Court and died in 2007.
Mitchell called the case "a circus from the beginning" based on "hearsay from a drunk like Claudia Stevens." He also denounced the "piss-poor journalism from the Marin IJ," the "disgusting people in Marin County" and the "perversion of
justice" committed by the "hired gun" county prosecutors, Charles Cacciatore and Leon Kousharian.
"I am not responsible for Danielle's death," he said.
A jury convicted Mitchell on July 12 -- the two-year anniversary of the crime -- of first-degree murder, domestic corporal injury, kidnapping, child abduction, child endangerment and stalking.
Authorities said Mitchell, who had a history of abusing Keller, drove from his house in Pittsburg to Keller's apartment in Novato
and repeatedly clubbed the 29-year-old woman in the head with a softball bat. Then he fled with their 1-year-old baby before being arrested in Citrus Heights.
Mitchell, who testified in his own defense, said he arrived at Keller's apartment and fought off two unidentified men who had apparently committed the murder. But Mitchell could not explain how Keller's blood got spattered on his pants at close range.
The court audience at the sentencing included a contingent of Stevens' supporters, many carrying flowers; Keller's best friend, Erica Menezes; three of the jurors who convicted Mitchell; as well as Mitchell's mother, Mary Jane Grimm, and his younger brother, Justin. Grimm, who has custody of the baby, declined to comment outside court.
After the sentencing, Stevens remarked on Mitchell's lack of remorse for the crimes.
"I think in his brain, he thinks he really didn't do it," she said. "If he ever gets out, he'll be like an animal.
"He's like a wart we burned off."
Gary Klien, Marin Independent Journal
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