Videos Reportedly Show Gruesome Abuse of Kansas Boy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The maternal grandmother of a 7-year-old Kansas boy whose remains were found in a pigsty says she has seen videos that detail gruesome abuse the boy suffered at the hands of his father and stepmother. Judy Conway, of Emporia, says the videos came from more than 30 security cameras placed throughout the Kansas City, Kansas, home where her grandson, Adrian Jones, lived with Michael and Heather Jones and six girls before he died in 2015. The Kansas City Star reports some photos also came from social media sites. Michael Jones is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday after he pleaded guilty in March to first-degree murder in Adrian's death. Heather Jones was sentenced in November to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
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Rival Health System Bids to Operate Topeka Hospital
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka-area community health system is moving forward with a bid to acquire a financially troubled rival hospital. Stormont Vail Health submitted a letter of intent yesterday (FRI) saying it wants to acquire the 378-bed St. Francis Health hospital. It previously had expressed interest in an acquisition. St. Francis is owned by Denver-based SCL Health. SCL has said it plans to stop operating St. Francis this summer whether it has a buyer or not. Stormont Vail is among three potential buyers. The others are the University of Kansas Health System and the California-based Prime Healthcare Foundation. Stormont Vail operates a 586-bed hospital in the Kansas capital city. St. Francis' possible closure has reignited a debate among Kansas legislators over expanding the state's Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act.
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Fifth Suspect in Pittsburg State Student's Death Pleads Guilty
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — A fifth person charged in the shooting death of a Pittsburg State University student pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Darius Rainey agreed to the plea deal yesterday (FRI) in the October 2014 death of 20-year-old Taylor Thomas. The Joplin Globe reports District Attorney Michael Gayoso said Rainey will be sentenced to life in prison with no parole for at least 25 years. Sentencing was scheduled for June 19. Thomas was a 20-year-old junior at the school when he was killed during a planned robbery at his home. Authorities allege the intruders were seeking drugs and money, with the drugs belonging to Thomas' roommate. The other four suspects have all pleaded guilty to various charges in the case.
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Kansas Man with Murder Tattoo Loses Appeal
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a Kansas man whose case drew attention because of a tattoo spelling murder backward on his neck. The court yesterday (FRI) rejected an appeal from Jeffery Wade Chapman of his first-degree murder conviction in the 2011 death of Damon Galyardt in Barton County. Chapman claimed that he killed Galyardt in self-defense. In his appeal, Chapman argued he did not get a fair trial because of pretrial publicity, caused in part because of the "REDRUM" tattoo on his neck. He asked to have the tattoo removed but was allowed instead to wear a turtleneck to cover it during trial. The court rejected the appeal, saying the district court made a special effort to avoid jurors affected by the publicity.
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Aviation Program Benefits from Wichita Cessna Loan
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A new Cessna Skyhawk aircraft has been provided to Auburn University for six months for educational events and pilot training. The Opelika-Auburn News reports that 17 students along with Auburn University Aviation Center personnel recently took a field trip to Textron Aviation headquarters in Wichita, where they were presented with the aircraft.
Textron Aviation is providing the Skyhawk as part of its Top Hawk partnership with top university aviation schools. Three to five educational stops are scheduled monthly for Auburn aviation students and the Skyhawk, including the Smoky Mountain Air Show in April in Knoxville, Tennessee; Thunder in the Valley Air Show in Columbus, Georgia, also in April; Tuskegee Fly-In in May; Auburn University Aviation Camp in June; and the Pensacola Air Show in July.
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Kansas Day Care Worker Accused of Killing Infant
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An arrest affidavit shows that a Kansas day care worker was the only person with access to the infant she's accused of killing. The Lawrence Journal-World reports 42-year-old Carrody Buchhorn was arrested April 14th and faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of 9-month-old Oliver Ortiz. Buchhorn has pleaded not guilty. She was released from the Douglas County Jail yesterday (FRI) after posting $100,000 bond. Investigators allege the boy was laid down for a nap at Sunshine Kids Group Daycare Home when he died in September after experiencing blunt force trauma. Buchhorn alleges she found Oliver that way after checking on him. Buchhorn is currently under house arrest. She is scheduled to next appear in court on May 17th.
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Three Men Charged in Murder of Osawatomie Man Lured by Craiglist
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Three people are charged in the stabbing death of a Kansas man who was lured to Kansas City by a Craigslist ad. The Jackson County prosecutor announced charges yesterday (FRI) in the killing of 29-year-old Michael Luckey of Osawatomie. His body was found April 5th near an abandoned home in south Kansas City. Twenty-year-old Tayelor Fitzpatrick, of Quenemo, Kansas; and Micah Dozier and Larry Wren III, both 18 from Kansas City, Missouri, each face first-degree murder and three other charges. Prosecutors say the suspects and a juvenile used Craigslist to get Luckey to Kansas City in order to rob him. After Luckey was killed, the suspects allegedly burned his vehicle and left his body. They then allegedly used Luckey's credit cards to buy electronics and other items.
