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Where Kansas’ darkest stories are told. Real cases. Real victims. Real justice.

10/29/2026

SHE WAS REPORTEDLY ATTACKED IN A BAR WITH WITNESSES PRESENT. THEN SHE DISAPPEARED.

Twenty-seven years later, where is Star Boomer?

On February 23, 1999, 39-year-old Star Gail Boomer went to Uncle Mike’s Bar near 49th Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.

She has not been seen or heard from since.

According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, witnesses reported a violent altercation inside the bar. At one point, Star was allegedly knocked to the floor and lost consciousness.

This was an attack people reportedly witnessed. Yet more than two decades later, her family still does not know where she is.

According to the CUE Center for Missing Persons, Star had gone to the bar with her roommate. Her roommate left, intending to return later to pick her up. When she returned, she was told Star had left with two men.

On February 28, the roommate reported Star missing. CUE’s case summary states that investigators believe Star was killed inside the bar and her body disposed of elsewhere. That remains an investigative belief, rather than a conclusion established through a criminal conviction.

In October 1999, two men, William Eugene “Geno” Spradlin and Robert Franklin “Butch” Horn, were charged with second-degree murder in connection with Star’s disappearance.

The charges were later dismissed. According to published case summaries and archived reporting, witnesses refused to testify.

Neither man was convicted in Star’s case. The dismissed charges are allegations, not proof of guilt. But their dismissal also meant Star’s family was left without a resolution.

Detectives reopened the investigation in 2017.

In 2019, a witness provided information that led police back to a property in the 1700 block of South 49th Street. Star had sometimes stayed there with a boyfriend. The house had been demolished in 2011.

With assistance from the University of Kansas, investigators used ground-penetrating radar and identified unusual areas beneath the ground. In December 2019, crews began excavating the property, searching for evidence that could finally explain what happened to her.

The excavation ended without the discovery of human remains.

For Star’s family, that search brought another painful stretch of hope and waiting.

During the search, her sister Donna Owens remembered her as a good woman and a good sister. Her mother, Hazel Hurtie, continued to believe she would be found. Another sister, Cynthia Hurtie, who had spent years seeking answers, died before the excavation began. Star also left behind a son.

Star was a mother, a daughter and a sister. Her family deserves to know what happened after that night inside Uncle Mike’s Bar.

The KBI continues to list a $5,000 governor’s reward in her case and believes people have information that could help investigators.

If you were at Uncle Mike’s on February 23, 1999, saw anything afterward, or heard information about Star’s disappearance, please contact investigators. Let them determine whether what you remember can help.

Kansas City, Kansas Police Department Homicide/Robbery Unit: 913-573-6010

Kansas Bureau of Investigation: 1-800-572-7463

Please share Star’s photograph and her story. Someone may still hold the information her family has waited 27 years to receive.

10/28/2026

BURIED IN A KANSAS FIELD. UNIDENTIFIED FOR NEARLY 29 YEARS.

On October 29, 1994, workers cleaning ditches and tree rows in Sedgwick County made a heartbreaking discovery.

Buried in a shallow grave in the 5600 block of West 47th Street South were the remains of a young man.

An examination determined that his death was a homicide. But investigators faced another question that would remain unanswered for nearly three decades:

Who was he?

Without his name, detectives were limited in their ability to piece together his life, retrace his final days, and find out who may have known what happened to him.

For years, he was known as a John Doe.

In 2021, investigators released a facial reconstruction in the hope that someone would recognize him. Then, in late 2022, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office obtained a grant for DNA testing through Othram, a laboratory specializing in forensic genetic genealogy.

In 2023, DNA technology helped identify a relative. Further investigation finally gave the young man his name back.

He was Harold “James” Crawford.

James was only 21 years old when he died. He had lived in an apartment complex on the east side of Wichita.

After nearly 29 years, investigators finally knew who he was. But identifying James answered only one part of the mystery.

Who killed him? How did he end up buried in that field? And who might remember something about his life or the days before his death?

When authorities announced his identification, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office asked anyone who knew James or had information about him or his death to come forward, even if the information seemed insignificant.

If you have information, please contact:

📞 Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Hotline: 316-660-3799

📞 Crime Stoppers: 316-267-2111

📧 [email protected]

James was more than an unidentified case file. He was a young man whose life was cut short, and his story deserves to be heard.

Please share his name and his story. Someone may remember something that could help investigators find answers. 🖤

10/27/2026

SHE CALLED FOR A PLUMBER. THE MAN WHO CAME TO HER HOME WOULD TAKE HER LIFE.

On October 26, 1998, 80-year-old Mary Ruth Bales needed a kitchen faucet repaired at her home in Kansas City, Kansas.

The man who arrived to help her was Wesley Ira Purkey. He was working for a plumbing company and told Mary Ruth he could return to complete the repair for less money if she paid him $70 in advance.

She paid him, expecting him to come back and fix the faucet.

What Mary Ruth didn’t know was that Purkey had already killed once that year.

After leaving her home, Purkey used her money to buy crack co***ne and hire a woman for s*x. The next day, October 27, he returned to Mary Ruth’s home carrying a toolbox.

Inside her bedroom, Purkey attacked her with a claw hammer. Mary Ruth, a polio survivor who walked with a cane, suffered repeated blows to her head. Investigators also found defensive injuries on her hands.

Mary Ruth died inside the home where she should have been safe.

Purkey later returned to the property and stole a purse and watches. He was arrested in connection with her murder and eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery. A Kansas court sentenced him to life in prison plus 206 months.

But Mary Ruth’s murder was not the first life Purkey had taken.

Nine months earlier, 16-year-old Jennifer Long had disappeared from Kansas City, Missouri. Her family had spent months searching and wondering what had happened to her.

While in custody awaiting prosecution in Mary Ruth’s case, Purkey contacted investigators and admitted that he had kidnapped and killed Jennifer. He hoped a federal prosecution would allow him to serve his sentence in a federal prison.

Purkey was later convicted in federal court in Jennifer’s case and sentenced to death. He was executed on July 16, 2020.

Two women. Two families left grieving. And two lives taken by the same man.

Today, we remember Mary Ruth Bales, whose life was stolen after she called someone she believed was there to help her. We also remember Jennifer Long, whose family endured years of uncertainty after she disappeared.

Please keep Mary Ruth and Jennifer’s loved ones in your thoughts. 🕯️

10/26/2026

HER SISTER CALLED 911 TO REPORT A BREAK-IN. THEN POLICE LEARNED WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO 17-YEAR-OLD SYNDI BIERMAN.

On the evening of February 18, 1989, Syndi Sue Bierman came home from work and invited two friends over to watch a movie at her family’s home in Kansas City, Kansas.

Syndi was 17 years old. She was an honor-roll student, a yearbook photographer, and a member of her school’s drill team. She had played softball and volleyball, enjoyed music, and had been accepted to the University of Kansas.

She had her whole life ahead of her.

By the following morning, Syndi was dead in her bedroom, and the person who called police was her own sister.

THE NIGHT SYNDI WAS KILLED

Syndi lived upstairs in her parents’ home. Her older sister, Shari Bierman, lived in a finished basement apartment with her two young sons.

According to Syndi’s family, Shari and two male acquaintances, Conrad Joseph Hernandez and Archie “A.J.” Owens Jr., were at the house while Syndi and her friends watched television.

Syndi’s friends later told investigators that Shari came upstairs more than once and asked whether they were spending the night and when they planned to leave.

The friends eventually left. Syndi remained home.

According to testimony summarized by the Kansas Supreme Court, Shari, Hernandez and Owens left the house, dropped Shari’s children off at Owens’ apartment, and then returned to the Bierman home.

Hernandez later testified that the three had discussed stealing property from Shari’s parents. He claimed Shari directed them to a construction site, where they picked up two-by-fours in case they needed to knock someone out.

He said Shari told them her sister would be home, but that if they were quiet, they could take the property without waking her.

That is not what happened.

INSIDE SYNDI’S BEDROOM

According to Hernandez’s testimony, he and Owens went upstairs carrying the boards. Syndi began to wake up and asked who was there.

Hernandez testified that he struck Syndi several times with a two-by-four and that Owens also hit her. Syndi fell from the bed and began screaming.

Hernandez said he put a pillow over her face. He testified that he later heard Owens tell Shari to “get her,” followed by Shari shouting at her sister and a thumping sound.

He also testified that Owens told Shari to get knives and that she returned with two knives from downstairs.

Hernandez denied cutting or stabbing Syndi while testifying at trial. But another witness testified that he had admitted cutting Syndi’s throat. A second witness also testified that Hernandez told her he had cut Syndi’s throat and that Owens had stabbed her.

The medical examiner found that Syndi had been beaten, cut and stabbed. She had defensive wounds on her hands and arms. The cause of death was blood loss.

Syndi fought for her life in her own bedroom.

THE 911 CALL

At approximately 3:11 a.m. on February 19, Shari called a Wyandotte County dispatcher and reported that the house had been broken into. She said she believed someone might still be inside.

About 30 seconds later, she called back and reported that her sister was on the floor and there was blood everywhere.

When officers arrived, Shari directed them toward the stairs. Syndi was found in her upstairs bedroom. Parts of the home had been ransacked, and property was missing.

Shari initially told police that she had left around 11 p.m., returned around 3 a.m. and discovered the break-in and her sister. She said no one else had been at the house with her that evening.

But when investigators spoke with Syndi’s friends, they learned that other people had been there.

Shari eventually acknowledged that Hernandez and Owens had been at the house with her, but maintained they would not have stolen property or killed her sister.

Investigators later found stolen items from the Bierman home at Owens’ apartment. Court records list a computer, printer, VCR, camera, watches and other property among the items taken.

WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE?

Syndi’s family has said they heard two different explanations and may never know exactly what the three intended when they returned to the house.

One possibility was that they planned to rob the home and Syndi woke up during the crime.

The other was a reported theory that Shari and the men had planned to kill Syndi’s parents for insurance money.

That second account remains a theory described by Syndi’s family, not an established finding in the court opinion. The Supreme Court record includes testimony that the three had discussed stealing from the home and that they returned carrying boards.

There was also evidence of tension between the sisters. Syndi’s boyfriend testified that, days before her death, Syndi told him Shari had threatened her and that she was afraid to go home. Friends also testified about conflict between them.

Whatever the original plan, a jury ultimately found Shari guilty of premeditated first-degree murder.

SHARI’S ACCOUNT

At trial, Shari gave a different version of events.

She testified that when the three returned to the house, she did not know Syndi was home. She said Hernandez began throwing things around upstairs, so she ran to her basement room and locked herself inside.

Shari claimed Hernandez later kicked in the door and threatened her. She said she was afraid of him.

Hernandez denied threatening her. The jury heard both accounts and found Shari guilty.

THE INVESTIGATION AND COURT CASES

On February 21, 1989, Hernandez and Owens were charged with first-degree murder and theft. Shari was initially charged with theft and aiding a felon. Two days later, she was also charged with first-degree murder.

After learning police were searching Owens’ apartment, Hernandez and Owens left the Kansas City area with others. Hernandez was apprehended in Oklahoma. Owens made his way to Arizona, where he turned himself in to the FBI and was returned to Kansas.

Hernandez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and agreed to testify against Shari and Owens.

Shari and Owens went to trial. Both were convicted of first-degree murder and theft. Syndi’s family said all three were sentenced to life in prison.

Both Shari and Owens appealed. In 1991, the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed their convictions.

REMEMBERING SYNDI

Syndi’s family described her as a girl whose smile could light up a room. She loved her family, cared about other people and stayed busy with school, church, sports and music.

She was preparing for college. She had dreams and plans that should have been hers to pursue.

Instead, her parents came home to police at their house and learned that one daughter had been murdered, and that their other daughter would be convicted in her death.

Syndi was only 17 years old.

Please remember Syndi Sue Bierman and keep her family in your thoughts. 🕯️🖤

10/26/2026

FOUR LIVES TAKEN. A SAFE THAT DIDN’T EXIST. LESS THAN $50 STOLEN.

Before “In Cold Blood” became a famous book, there were four people whose lives ended inside their own home.

Herb Clutter, 48.
His wife, Bonnie, 45.
Their daughter, Nancy, 16.
Their son, Kenyon, 15.

On November 15, 1959, all four were murdered at their farm near Holcomb, Kansas.

The men who came to their door were searching for a fortune that wasn’t there.

THE PLAN

While incarcerated at the Kansas State Penitentiary, Richard “Dick” Hickock shared a cell with a man who had once worked for Herb Clutter.

From those conversations, Hickock came to believe the successful farmer kept large amounts of cash in a safe inside his home.

He planned to rob the family after leaving prison and recruited fellow former inmate Perry Smith.

According to the evidence summarized by the Kansas Supreme Court, the plan included leaving no witnesses.

On November 14, 1959, Hickock and Smith traveled across Kansas toward the Clutter farm, bringing a sh***un, a knife, rope and tape.

Inside the house were two parents and their teenage children.

There was no safe.

THE MURDERS

During the early morning hours of November 15, the intruders restrained the family.

Herb and Kenyon were taken to the basement. Bonnie and Nancy were restrained upstairs in separate beds.

All four were shot at close range. Herb’s throat was also cut.

The killers left with less than $50, a portable radio and binoculars.

Four people had been murdered during a robbery that produced only a small amount of money and a few belongings.

THE BREAK IN THE CASE

The investigation eventually led back to the prison conversations that had helped put the family in danger.

Hickock’s former cellmate, Floyd Wells, provided information connecting him to the Clutters.

On December 30, 1959, authorities arrested Hickock and Smith in Las Vegas.

During questioning in January, Hickock confessed. Smith subsequently admitted his involvement while officers were transporting him back to Kansas.

Their accounts helped investigators locate discarded sh***un shells, rope and tape. Authorities also recovered the sh***un and knife, along with property stolen from the family.

THE COURT CASE

Their joint trial began March 22, 1960, in Finney County.

Both men were convicted of four counts of first-degree murder. Each received a death sentence on every count.

The Kansas Supreme Court upheld their convictions in 1961. Further challenges followed, including a federal appeal that rejected their claim that they had been denied a fair and impartial trial.

On April 14, 1965, Hickock and Smith were executed by hanging at the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing.

REMEMBER THEIR NAMES

Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” brought worldwide attention to the murders.

But behind the book, the films and the names of the killers were Herb, Bonnie, Nancy and Kenyon.

A mother. A father. A teenage daughter. A teenage son.

Four people who deserved to wake up that Sunday morning.

Remember the Clutter family. 🕯️

10/23/2026

A COACH. A FATHER. ONE YEAR WITHOUT ANSWERS.

Hundreds of people were gathered at a Wichita park for youth football games. Travon Stewart was there selling concessions to help raise money for a football team.

Then someone shot him.

Today, October 23, marks one year since the 32-year-old father and youth football coach was killed, and his family is still waiting for an arrest.

To the young athletes who knew him, Travon was “Coach Factor.” Loved ones described a man who invested in children, teaching them discipline, teamwork, and perseverance. His work with young people extended beyond the football field.

On October 23, 2025, at approximately 7:03 p.m., an off-duty Wichita police detective working security at Dr. Glen Dey Park, formerly known as Grove Park, heard multiple gunshots.

The detective ran toward the gunfire and found Travon wounded. He called for backup and emergency medical services, then began providing lifesaving aid.

Travon was rushed to a hospital in extremely critical condition. He did not survive.

Police estimated that 200 to 300 people were at the park for the football games. Investigators interviewed witnesses who remained at the scene.

Wichita police said they believed Travon was specifically targeted and that the shooting was not connected to the youth football games. They also clarified that the team he was raising money for was not affiliated with the Wichita Junior Football League.

The presence of hundreds of people does not mean everyone saw what happened. But investigators have continued asking anyone with information to come forward.

Behind that request is a mother who lost her son.

After his death, Travon’s mother, Latrell Stewart, described the shock of learning he had been killed. He was her youngest son and one of her twins.

“If it was their son, they would want to know what happened,” she told KWCH.

In November 2025, Crime Stoppers increased the reward to up to $10,000 for qualifying information leading to a felony arrest. Tips must go through Crime Stoppers to qualify under the program’s rules.

As of KWCH’s October 22, 2026 anniversary report, no arrests had been made. Wichita police told the station there were no new updates to release.

One year later, Travon’s children are still without their father. Young athletes are still without their coach. His mother is still waiting for answers about who took her son’s life.

If you attended the games, witnessed anything, or have information about Travon’s death, contact the Wichita Police Department Investigations Section at 316-268-4407.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or through the P3 Tips app.

Case number: 25C197261.

Please share Travon’s story. Help keep his name, and the need for answers, in front of someone who may have information.

10/23/2026

ASHLEY HARLAN NEVER MADE IT TO HER ULTRASOUND.

She was 23 years old, about five months pregnant, and preparing to find out whether she was having a boy or a girl.

On January 30, 2018, Ashley was found shot to death inside an Olathe, Kansas, townhouse.

Her unborn baby died too.

Ashley had recently moved from Manhattan to live with her grandfather and be closer to her baby’s father. Friends described a loving, caring young woman who had survived a difficult childhood and was working toward a better future.

Her friend Amber Crawford told reporters Ashley’s mother had died when Ashley was young and that she had grown up in foster care. Crawford admired how Ashley kept moving forward despite everything she had experienced.

Now, she was preparing for motherhood. She never reached the appointment that would have told her more about the child she was carrying.

At approximately 4 p.m. on January 30, Ashley’s boyfriend, Devonte Dominique Wash, called 911 and reported finding her shot.

According to the Kansas Supreme Court’s account of the evidence, officers found Ashley near the townhouse’s entrance. There were no signs of forced entry. She had suffered three gunshot wounds, and the medical examiner determined her unborn child died following her death.

Investigators conducted more than 200 interviews involving approximately 50 officers.

Their investigation eventually focused on Wash. Prosecutors built a circumstantial case involving surveillance footage of a U-Haul truck, rental records, his movements, and fi***rm-related evidence. Investigators never recovered the murder weapon.

Wash denied killing Ashley.

In May 2022, a Johnson County jury convicted him of capital murder in the deaths of Ashley and her unborn child. The following month, he received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

But that conviction was overturned.

On June 27, 2025, the Kansas Supreme Court reversed Wash’s conviction and returned the case to the district court for further proceedings.

The court found that prosecutors repeatedly crossed boundaries the trial judge had established concerning fi***rm evidence. Prosecutors also presented disputed conclusions as things everyone already knew.

The justices determined those errors could have affected the verdict, particularly because the prosecution’s circumstantial case contained significant gaps.

That ruling was not an acquittal. It meant the conviction could not stand because Wash had not received a fair trial. The latest court outcome verified for this post is the reversal and return of the case for further proceedings.

Through the investigation, trial, and appeal, Ashley’s life deserves to remain at the center of her story.

A young woman who had overcome hardship.

An expectant mother who was looking ahead.

And a baby who never had the chance to be born.

Remember Ashley Harlan and her unborn child. Their lives mattered. ❤️‍🩹🕊️

10/22/2026

SHE WAS 37 WEEKS PREGNANT. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN COMING HOME WITH HER DAUGHTER.

Remembering Naomi Oglesby • Wichita, Kansas

Naomi Oglesby was only 20 years old. She was weeks away from delivering a baby girl, and she had already endured the heartbreak of losing her first daughter.

On May 25, 2025, her boyfriend, Matthew Criscenzo, shot her in the head inside his father’s Wichita home.

Doctors delivered her daughter by emergency cesarean section. Naomi was pronounced dead shortly afterward. Her baby survived, but the loss of oxygen caused severe brain injuries.

BEFORE THE SHOOTING

Naomi’s family remembered someone funny, stubborn, strong-willed and full of personality. She loved animals, had two cats named Bubbles and Butters, and graduated from Derby High School in 2023. She had worked in food service and was taking steps toward becoming a certified nursing assistant.

She was also a mother who had already buried a child.

Her first daughter, Yazmyn Rayne Oglesby-Criscenzo, died on August 3, 2024, just over six weeks after birth. Her family said the cause was sudden infant death syndrome.

Naomi kept Yazmyn’s clothes and baby supplies. When she learned she was pregnant with another girl, she looked forward to another chance to raise a daughter.

That daughter would be named Zy’nia.

THE MORNING NAOMI WAS KILLED

Police were called around 4:28 a.m. to a home in the 700 block of South Laura Street. Naomi and Criscenzo had been staying at his father’s residence.

According to reporting on the probable-cause affidavit, Criscenzo’s father heard a gunshot after going to his bedroom. He opened the door and found Naomi on the floor, with his son standing nearby holding a gun.

He took the handgun from Criscenzo and called 911.

Investigators identified the weapon as a G***k 22 .40-caliber handgun.

The affidavit reportedly documented repeated, unsolicited statements from Criscenzo at the scene and afterward. Among them:

“She loved me and I killed her.”

He also said he had not wanted Naomi to leave.

WHAT HE TOLD INVESTIGATORS

According to the affidavit excerpts published in reporting, Criscenzo described Naomi taking his PlayStation controller and saying she was leaving. He described gathering her belongings, then changing his mind about her going.

He acknowledged pointing the gun at her, while claiming it discharged when she pushed or swatted it away.

That was his account. The jury ultimately found him guilty of premeditated murder.

The investigation also uncovered allegations of earlier violence. A friend told investigators that roughly a week before the killing, Criscenzo had grabbed Naomi, bitten her hand, pulled a gun and threatened to kill her.

Those allegations describe a history investigators examined before the case reached trial.

A DAUGHTER SURVIVES

At Wesley Medical Center, doctors performed an emergency C-section and delivered Zy’nia Rayne Oglesby.

The newborn developed seizures and required intubation. Court reporting described severe brain trauma caused by oxygen deprivation after her mother was shot.

By the April 2026 sentencing hearing, the court heard about the profound consequences for the child. Her foster mother described serious swallowing difficulties and the possibility that she might never be able to eat normally.

Naomi’s sister, Ashley Stewart, told the court that Criscenzo had taken her sister’s life and permanently altered her niece’s future.

THE JURY’S VERDICT

On February 2, 2026, after four days of testimony and several hours of deliberation, a Sedgwick County jury returned guilty verdicts for:

• Premeditated first-degree murder
• First-degree felony murder
• Kidnapping
• Aggravated battery

The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office confirmed those verdicts in its official announcement.

The two murder verdicts concerned the killing of Naomi. Her daughter survived.

THE SENTENCE

On April 21, 2026, Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced Criscenzo, then 20, to:

• 618 months to life for murder
• 228 months for kidnapping
• 43 months for aggravated battery

The murder sentence requires at least 51 years and six months before parole eligibility. If he is granted parole from that life sentence, the additional consecutive sentences total another 22 years and seven months.

That is why coverage described the punishment as at least 74 years and one month. Parole eligibility does not guarantee release.

The judge also denied defense requests that included acquittal, a new trial and a reduced sentence.

Naomi had already packed away the belongings of one daughter she never got to watch grow up. She should have been unpacking them for the little girl she was about to bring home.

She should have been there for Zy’nia’s first birthday.

She should have had the chance to finish her training, raise her daughter and grow older.

Remember Naomi Oglesby. Remember the life she was building, and the daughter whose future was changed before she ever took her first breath.

10/21/2026

SHE MADE IT OUT THE BACK DOOR.
THEY DRAGGED HER BACK INSIDE.

The Murder of Robin Bell | Bonner Springs, Kansas

Around 1 a.m., Robin Bell’s husband woke up and realized she still hadn’t come home from work.

He drove from Tonganoxie to the Dollar General in Bonner Springs, where Robin worked as a manager. When he arrived around 1:30 a.m., her car was still outside.

He called police.

Inside the store, officers found his wife dead in a back room.

Robin Kay Bell was 44 years old. On November 11, 2005, she had gone to work at a store that a group of young people had selected for a robbery.

According to the Kansas Supreme Court’s account of the evidence, the group included Robert Martin Haberlein, John William Backus, Christa Lewis, and a 15-year-old girl identified in the opinions as A.R.

The planning included looking for a business to rob. The court’s opinion in Backus’ case states that Dollar General was selected because it lacked surveillance cameras.

A detective testified that Lewis had described an even more disturbing part of the planning: whoever was inside would be killed so there would be no witnesses.

Lewis ultimately did not enter the store. Haberlein, Backus, and A.R. went inside shortly before closing.

According to A.R.’s trial testimony, she and Haberlein pretended to shop while Backus positioned himself toward the rear. At the register, Haberlein pointed a gun at Robin and demanded money.

Robin began complying.

She was then taken to the back office, where she was shot and forced to open the safe.

But Robin was still alive.

She ran through the back door.

For a moment, she was outside the building.

According to the testimony summarized by the court, Haberlein and Backus chased her, and A.R. held the door open as Robin was forced back inside.

Robin asked A.R. for help.

The girl did not help her.

Robin was taken into a storage room and beaten with multiple objects. A.R. estimated that the beating continued for as long as ten minutes. She also testified that Haberlein fired another shot before the group left.

The medical evidence documented 48 separate injuries, including severe head injuries, broken bones, and two gunshot wounds. The forensic pathologist attributed Robin’s death to extensive crushing injuries.

Approximately $2,000 was missing.

A telephone had been pulled from the wall. Blood outside the back door marked the route where Robin had tried to escape.

According to A.R.’s testimony, after leaving Robin inside the store, the three went to McDonald’s.

The investigation would remain unsolved for nearly two years.

Then, on September 21, 2007, Haberlein and Lewis came to the police station regarding a report that Lewis was a runaway.

During questioning, Haberlein began discussing Robin’s murder. Investigators recognized details that had not been publicly released.

Further interviews led police to A.R. and then Backus.

At trial, A.R. testified under an agreement allowing her to be prosecuted as a juvenile. She described the robbery, Robin’s attempted escape, and the attack.

Her mother, identified in the opinion as Yvette, also testified. She admitted helping dispose of the gun and bloody clothing and receiving $400. She pleaded guilty to aiding a felon and received 18 months’ probation in exchange for her testimony.

Haberlein and Backus were tried separately in Wyandotte County.

Both juries convicted them of:

• First-degree premeditated murder.
• Aggravated kidnapping.
• Aggravated robbery.

As documented in the appellate opinions, Haberlein received a “Hard 50” life sentence for murder, followed by consecutive sentences of 253 months for aggravated kidnapping and 59 months for aggravated robbery.

Backus also received a “Hard 50” life sentence, followed by consecutive sentences of 586 months for aggravated kidnapping and 59 months for aggravated robbery.

A “Hard 50” means a life sentence with no possibility of parole for at least 50 years on the murder conviction, not an automatic release after 50 years.

Both men appealed.

Backus challenged jury instructions, the admission of crime-scene and autopsy photographs, the denial of a new trial, and the handling of his claimed intellectual disability. His new-trial argument included his father’s post-trial statement claiming Backus had been home sorting Christmas decorations when Robin was killed.

The Kansas Supreme Court rejected the request for a new trial and affirmed his convictions on November 2, 2012. Although it identified jury-instruction errors, it concluded they did not require reversal.

Haberlein denied participating in the robbery and murder when he testified at trial. On appeal, he challenged jury instructions, his prosecution as an adult, and his sentence, among other issues.

On December 28, 2012, the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed his judgment. The court found an error involving an omitted second-degree murder instruction but concluded it did not warrant a new trial. It declined to reach the merits of certain constitutional arguments because of how they had been raised.

Those are the outcomes documented in the 2012 direct appeals.

Behind every charge, sentence, and appeal was Robin.

A woman working her shift.
A husband who went looking when she didn’t come home.
A desperate attempt to escape through a back door.

Robin made it outside.

She should have made it home.

Remember Robin Kay Bell. 🕯️

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