Retrial Ordered in Day Care Death Despite Kansas Supreme Court Ruling
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - A woman accused in the death of a toddler in a Eudora day care will face another trial. That's despite a Kansas Supreme Court decision Friday to let a ruling stand that reversed her conviction. The Douglas County District Attorney's Office said Friday it plans to retry Carrody Buchhorn in the 2016 death of 9-month-old Oliver "Ollie" Ortiz. The Kansas Supreme Court announced Friday it would let an appeals court ruling reversing Buchhorn's conviction stnad. The six Supreme Court justices who heard the case were equally divided on Buchhorn's appeal, which alleged she was convicted because of ineffective counsel in her first trial.
===============
Douglas County Refinished Recount of Abortion Amendment Votes
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Douglas County has completed its recount of the August 2nd constitutional amendment on abortion. The Kansas Secretary of State's office reports that six of the nine counties have completed the recounts, which were requested by Melissa Leavitt of Colby. As expected, the recount did not affect the results of the vote; in Douglas County, the recount yielded two additional "yes" votes and 15 fewer "no" votes. Final results of the recount of the abortion amendment are still pending for Johnson, Sedgwick, and Shawnee counties. The Kansas Secretary of State's office reports that so far in the recount, there are 27,492 votes for the "Value Them Both" amendment, 62,013 votes against it. A separate recount in six counties also confirms that Steven Johnson won the Republican primary race for state treasurer against State Senator Caryn Tyson.
===============
Salina Man Arrested for 2011 Murder of Girlfriend
SALINE COUNTY, Kan. (KPR) - A Salina man has been arrested for a murder eleven years ago. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation reports that 51-year-old Steven Couch Jr. was charged Friday in the murder of 39-year-old Carol S. Williams in New Cambria in 2011. Williams was Couch's girlfriend at the time. Couch has been charged with second-degree murder and booked into the Saline County jail, where he is being held on $1 million bond. The investigation is continuing.
===============
Former KC Church Elder Convicted in Wife's Killing
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A former elder in a Kansas City, Missouri, church has been convicted of killing his wife. A jury on Friday found Robert Lee Harris guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 38-year-old Tanisha Harris. Police went to the couple's apartment in Overland Park, Kansas, on January 8th, 2018, in response to a reported domestic disturbance. They returned when Harris reported his wife was missing. Her body was later found near Raymore, Missouri. Tanisha Harris was an associate pastor at Repairers Kansas City, a nondenominational church, when she was killed. Robert Lee Harris will be sentenced November 3rd.