Triplett changes story

during murder trial
Case could go to jury

before end of week
By Melanie Davis
melanie@mountaintimes.com

The capital-murder trial of Neil Matthew Sargeant, 26, is expected to end this week and one co-defendent changed his story during his most recent testimony.

Sargeant is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon and burning of personal property in connection to the death of Appalachian State University student Stephen William Harrington, 19.

Harrington’s body was discovered at 7:45 on the morning of Nov. 8, 2005 in the trunk of his Subaru parked on Sleepy Hollow Lane in the Foscoe community. His arms were bound behind his back, and his face wrapped in duct tape.

Harrington’s body had been set aflame in the trunk of the car.

The state medical examiner determined the cause of death to be asphyxiation due to the duct tape over his mouth and nose.

The prosecution presented evidence and testimony to the jury Monday morning and came to a close Friday afternoon with the testimony of co-defendant Kyle Quentin Triplett, 23.


The transcript of the testimony was presented to the defense on Thursday , and video recording was presented to the defense Friday morning.

Another recess was granted in order for Sargeant and his defense attorneys to review the video.

In Triplett’s initial statements made at the time of his arrest, he claimed very little participation in the events leading to Harrington’s death.

He had claimed to be asleep during the alleged robbery and during the time Harrington’s face and arms were bound with duct tape.

During his most recent testimony, Triplett outlined a different scenario in which he grabbed Harrington by the throat as soon as Harrington entered Sargeant’s residence on Poplar Hill Road on Nov. 7, 2005 with the intention to “stick him up” using a handgun. Triplett said Sargeant had directed him to do so in order to steal 4 to 6 ounces of cocaine.

Triplett testified he let Harrington go once his face began to turn red. According to Triplett, Sargeant applied duct tape to Harrington’s face and head and began punching and kicking Harrington.

Triplett testified he participated in the beating of Harrington. Matthew Brandon Dalrymple, 22, the third co-defendant in the murder, was said to have been in another room, but allegedly began participation during the beating, court testimony revealed.

The events following the robbery remained consistent in Triplett’s testimony. He claims Sargeant rode in Harrington’s car as a passenger to Sleepy Hollow Lane. Triplett also testified that he was the person to light the body on fire, after Sargeant sprayed lighter fluid on Harrington’s body within the trunk of the Subaru.

Upon returning to the house on Poplar Hill Drive, Triplett said he then “ran” a small quantity of the cocaine to an undisclosed apartment to sell it for $150.

A few other variances in Triplett’s original statement and Friday’s testimony include his relationship to Harrington. He had initially said he would consider Harrington a friend and would speak to him via telephone a couple times a week. In Friday’s testimony, he said they did not know each other very well.

Triplett entered into a plea agreement with the prosecution during his mid-September trial. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, a lesser offense, first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, burning of personal property and conspiracy with Sargeant to sell and/or deliver a schedule II controlled substance (cocaine). He was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Triplett gave the reason for new testimony as simply, “The truth needed to be told.” There will be no change in Triplett’s sentence as a result of his statement.

Defense attorneys opened their evidence presentation by calling special agent Wade Colvard of the State Bureau of Investigation to the witness stand. Colvard was asked to read aloud the first statement given by Triplett during their initial interview. Colvard was present during both interviews with Triplett.

The defense called Dalrymple to the witness stand. He refused to answer any questions on the advice of his attorney to avoid self-incrimination. During Triplett’s mid-September trial, Dalrymple had entered into an agreement with the prosecution to testify in exchange for removing the possibility of the death penalty.

The defense made a motion to enter the statement made by Dalrymple to officers of the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office in September as evidence. The prosecution objected to that. Superior court judge Robert Payne is expected to make a decision Monday morning concerning that document.

The court recessed to allow Payne time to review case law presented by defense in the matter.

The evidence phase is expected close Monday with defense wrapping up in the morning hours and closing arguments to be made Monday afternoon.

The case will then be presented to the jury Tuesday morning for deliberations.

If found guilty, the trial will move into a sentencing phase in which prosecution and defense argue for or against the death sentence.

Correction: In the Monday article on the trial, both in print and on the Web, it said that court recessed Thursday to obtain a statement from Kyle Triplett, but that was not the case. The court recessed for a personal matter, regarding a member of the district attorney’s staff. We apologize for the error.