TOPEKA – Kimberley S. Younger, one of five individuals convicted in the killing of an elderly Wichita couple at the Barton County Fair Grounds in July 2018, has appealed her October 2021 conviction to the Kansas Supreme Court, the Kansas Courts Office announced Tuesday
In an appeal set for 9 a.m. Monday, Younger is challenging her jury convictions in Barton County District Court of aiding and abetting capital murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation of first-degree murder and theft. In November 2021, she was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on capital murder charges.
Younger, of Aransas Pass, Texas, was convicted of hatching the plot to kill Alfred “Sonny” Carpenter and Pauline Carpenter, both of Wichita, at the Barton County Fair in July of 2018. The couple was shot and stabbed and the perpetrators stole the couple’s truck and camper, according to a Kansas Courts news release.
Four other individuals entered pleas and have been convicted for their connection to the crimes. They are Michael Fowler Jr., Sarasota, Fla.; Rusty Frasier, Aransas Pass, Texas; Christine Tenney, Santa Fe, Texas; and Thomas Drake, Van Buren, Ark.
Issues on appeal are whether:
• Allowing remote, two-way video testimony violated Younger’s fundamental right to face-to-face confrontation.
• The district court erred by failing to suppress Younger’s statements, which were obtained in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, Edwards v. Arizona, and were otherwise involuntary.
• The district court erred by failing to suppress physical evidence obtained by involuntary “consent.”
• The district court erred by denying Younger’s motions for a mistrial based on the repeated State v. Elnicki error.
An April 2015 Supreme Court ruling reversed the convictions of Justin Elnicki, finding a videotape of the police interrogation unduly prejudicial in front of the jury because the detective repeatedly accused Elnicki of lying, the prosecutor made unsupported attacks on Elnicki’s credibility in closing argument, and the combined effect of the detective’s accusations and the prosecutor’s remarks rendered the trial fundamentally unfair.
• Failing to order sequestration of the State’s lead detective violated Younger’s right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.
• Cumulative error denied Younger a fair trial.
• The district court erred by ordering $34,427.46 in restitution.
Cases will be heard in the Supreme Court courtroom on the third floor of the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka.
All Supreme Court oral arguments are broadcast live over the internet. To watch proceedings live online, go to www.youtube.com/KansasSupremeCourt.
Background
The plot involved the five, all carnival workers, killing the Carpenters, who sold crafts, jewelry, purses and other handmade items during the fair. They group then used the couple’s recreational vehicle to drive the bodies 320 miles to Van Buren, Ark.
The Carpenters’ bodies were found on July 16, 2018, next to a creek bed outside the small community of Natural Dam in the Ozark National Forest.
The case was investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Great Bend Police Department in Kansas, as well as the Van Buren Police Department, Crawford County (Arkansas) Sheriff’s Office, and the Arkansas State Police.
