Reunited mother, daughter survive murder plot by dad

Kim Smith

Monday, March 11, 2002 | 11:05 a.m.

Brenda Kline rarely has to wonder where her 17-year-old daughter is. Jamie is afraid to leave her side.

The two lost each other when Jamie was a baby and came close to losing each other again a year and a half ago, after the FBI uncovered a plot by Kline's ex-husband -- Jamie's father -- to have the teen killed to avoid paying child support.

Even though James Leroy Gormon, 41, is in a federal prison after being convicted of the plot, the mother and daughter stay close, not risking another chance at fate separating them.

Jamie also suffers from nightmares and sleeps with the lights on.

"She had her dad on a pedestal, he could do no wrong," Kline said. "She's still confused by all of this."

The tale of loss and near loss began when Kline was a teenager in Carson City. Her best friend introduced her to Gormon. Kline fell in love, got pregnant and dropped out of high school her senior year.

Within a year the marriage was over. Within two years Kline moved to Las Vegas, and Gormon won custody of Jamie and disappeared.

Unable to find Gormon or their daughter, Kline went on with her life. She remarried twice and had four more daughters.

Then in 1998, she said, a miracle occurred.

"(Gormon) called my parents out of the blue and said he couldn't control Jamie and he didn't want her anymore," Kline said.

Gormon, who was living in Idaho, put 14-year-old Jamie on a plane and relinquished custody to Kline.

Over the next couple of years, Kline got to know her oldest daughter, who is learning disabled, but also found herself in and out of the courtroom arguing with Gormon over child support.

Ultimately, a Clark County judge ordered Gormon to pay Kline $500 a month, Kline said. Gormon never made any payments and was about two years behind, she said.

On Oct. 4, 2000, Kline said, her world was turned upside down.

"I had just gotten home from picking up the younger kids from school when Jamie said that someone had called for me and would call me back," Kline said. "I looked at the Caller ID and it said the U.S. government had called."

Thirty minutes later an FBI agent was sitting in her living room.

"They told me that there's no easy or nice way to tell you this, but your ex-husband has hired a hitman to kill you," Kline said.

Kline said she was told that Gormon had asked a relative of his current wife's to kill her, but that the relative had gone to the FBI instead.

"I was terrified. I didn't want to believe that he'd done that, but honestly, with the things that went on in our marriage, I realized that he could do it," Kline said.

For the next several weeks, Kline said, FBI agents kept an eye on her and her family as they put together their case against Gormon.

Ultimately, Gormon was arrested after having several telephone discussions and one meeting with an undercover agent posing as a hitman. The meeting, which took place in Reno, was captured on videotape.

In the end Gormon changed his mind about killing Kline and instead sought to kill Jamie, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Rachow, who prosecuted Gormon.

"He said at one point on the video that he didn't have enough money to have his ex and his daughter killed," Rachow said. "He also said that if they were both killed he'd become the number one suspect."

Gormon agreed to pay the hitman $5,000 to kill Jamie -- $2,500 after the deed was done and $500 in cash and a 100cc motorcycle up front.

Rachow said he agreed with U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben's assessment of Gormon.

"The word the judge used was 'cold,' " Rachow said.

Gormon was tried in U.S. District Court in Reno. His first trial ended in a mistrial. He was convicted in a second trial in November. Two FBI agents and his cousin-in-law testified against him.

McKibben gave Gormon the maximum sentence of 10 years after listening to a letter written by Jamie.

In part, Jamie wrote "I thought dads are supposed to care about their kids, not treat them this. You are so stupid. I hope everybody thinks you are stupid."

Assistant Public Defender Michael Kennedy said he believes Gormon was entrapped by the government. While Gormon probably did talk to his wife's cousin about wanting his former wife and daughter dead, he would never have taken the steps to do anything about it, Kennedy said.

"The theme of our defense was 'No FBI, no crime,' " Kennedy said. "None of this would have ever taken place if the FBI hadn't called Mr. Gormon."

Jurors in the first trial couldn't reach a verdict because roughly half of them disbelieved Gormon's cousin-in-law, Jimmy Smith, an ex-felon who gave several inconsistent statements, Kennedy said.

"Mr. Gormon expressed the sort of thoughts that go through everyone's head," Kennedy said. "There's nothing admirable about it, but it's not illegal to have such thoughts. A moral wrong isn't necessarily a criminal wrong."

Kennedy has appealed the conviction, arguing the second trial was a violation of the Bill of Rights' double jeopardy clause.

If Gormon's conviction is upheld, he could be released in seven years due to credit for time already served prior to trial and good behavior credits.

Kline, who is now single and unemployed, is living with her five daughters in a motel room.

She said she hopes she will have a happy new life in another city by the time Gormon is released from prison.

"My biggest fear and my daughter's is what is he going to do when he gets out," Kline said. "He's going to spend the next seven years thinking about it."