Kennedy trial headed to closing arguments

Closing statements in the trial for a Long Beach man accused of helping kill a Newport Beach couple in 2004 will likely begin this afternoon, prosecutors said Monday.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Matt Murphy said he is ready to begin his closing argument to jurors this afternoon that John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 43, helped kill Newport Beach retirees Tom and Jackie Hawks out at sea Nov. 15, 2004.

Murphy’s case relies heavily on the testimony of two men who claim Kennedy was on the boat with the Hawkses and convicted killer Skylar Deleon that day. Kennedy was hired as the “muscle” to help Deleon and another man, Alonso Machain, subdue the couple before tying them to an anchor and throwing them overboard, prosecutors said.

Machain and Kennedy’s longtime friend, Myron Gardner, testified that Kennedy did it. Kennedy testified in his own defense last week that he wasn’t there and had never met his accused accomplices before appearing in court with them.

Defense attorneys are relying on Kennedy’s reformed gang member reputation with some in Long Beach to gain trust with the jury. Kennedy’s attorneys have said that outside of two accused-criminals testimony and phone records putting their client likely near the scene of the crime, jurors have little else to convict.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Closing arguments will likely begin this afternoon at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

REPORTER JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.