Family provides a different perception of Payne

One by one, a string of defense witnesses took the stand Thursday offering a different picture of Christopher Payne from the one painted by prosecutors in his capital murder trial.

Former co-workers and relatives described Payne as a protective brother, attentive grandson, compassionate caregiver and loving father.

Thursday was the first day in the mitigation phase of Payne's trial.

Payne, 30, was convicted Tuesday of starving his 3-year-old daughter, Ariana, and 4-year-old son, Tyler, to death in the summer of 2006, while keeping them captive inside a bedroom closet.

Ariana's remains were found Feb. 18, 2007, stuffed inside a plastic tub in a trash bin. Authorities said they believe Tyler's remains fell out of the tub and were overlooked in the trash bin, which was later dumped at a landfill.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Payne, in part, because of the "especially cruel, heinous and depraved" nature of the crime.

Defense attorneys hope to persuade jurors to spare Payne's life. On Thursday, Assistant Pima County Public Defender Rebecca McLean told jurors a mitigation expert will testify what circumstances led to the children's death next week.

Among them, McLean said, was Payne's addiction to heroin, his "disruptive" childhood and his relationship with the "toxic Reina Gonzales."

Gonzales was Payne's live-in girlfriend at the time of the children's deaths. She pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the case in exchange for a 22-year prison sentence.

Payne's maternal aunt, Terry White, testified Thursday as did his stepsister, Debbie Barbone, stepmother, Patricia Payne, and former colleagues George Salia and Jeanne Nix.

According to Payne's tearful family members, Payne's mother, Socorro, was diagnosed with brain cancer a few months after he was born and died about a year later. Socorro Payne's two sisters and mother helped his father, Forrest, raise him in the years after she died.

Payne was 6 when his father married Patricia, who had two daughters of her own.

Although things started out rocky, Patricia Payne fondly recalled taking Payne to the movies and on fishing excursions in Lakeside, Ariz. He was involved in both Little League and soccer as a youngster, she said.

Payne started to get involved with drugs in junior high school after becoming friends with the "wrong crowd," Patricia Payne said.

She and her husband obtained substance-abuse treatment and counseling for Payne on multiple occasions, Patricia Payne said. They went so far as to take out a second mortgage on their home to get Payne into drug treatment.

Despite his troubles, Patricia Payne also recalled how much enjoyment Payne got out of a high school project that required him to help out at a local nursing home. He continued to read to the seniors even after the program was over, she said.

Under cross-examination, Payne's family members testified Payne was raised in a "loving and nurturing" family that had frequent family get-togethers and has always been willing to help him whenever he needed it.

White also acknowledged she almost lost her house because she used it to post bond for Payne in an unrelated case and he didn't show up for his trial. She didn't lose the house because other witnesses also failed to show up, and the case was dismissed.

Patricia Payne also admitted her sister, Donna Atkinson, expressed her fear a couple of years ago that Payne was taking advantage of their mother, his step-grandmother.

Patricia Payne acknowledged that Atkinson told her Payne had asked their 90-year-old mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, for money because someone had broken into his apartment and stolen all of their food and clothes. In truth, he and Gonzales had been evicted.

Salias and Nix testified Payne worked for SKOR Alternative Transportation Service from June 2005 until April 2006. He transported elderly and disabled people to appointments and developed a reputation as a reliable and compassionate worker.

Payne was often requested for his services, Nix said.

Thursday morning, Ariana and Tyler's mother, Jamie Hallam, read a prepared statement about their personalities and her loss.

The statement brought several jury members and Payne himself to tears.

"I have not only lost one child, but I have lost two. My babies were the most amazing and wonderful children any mother could ever have," Hallam said.

"It saddens me to no end to know that my precious little boy and my sweet little girl were treated so cruel. Ariana's and Tyler's murders took everything from me. It took my security and my innocence; it took my rest and my peace. I have lost my faith and trust in people. I have trouble finding joy in the simple pleasures of life. Being 'happy' doesn't seem 'right' anymore."

Hallam said she wishes she could trade places with her children.

"I am now stuck with the haunting images, the emptiness, the loneliness and the realization that our lives will never be the same. I am also stuck with the memory of knowing that my son's remains may never be found. How am I supposed to sleep at night knowing my baby may never truly be at rest?"

The mitigation phase is expected to resume Tuesday morning before Judge Richard Fields of Pima County Superior Court.

On StarNet: Read Jamie Hallam's statement at www.azstarnet.com