Murder charges filed in Butler County death

El Dorado — A Douglass man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a woman whose body was found in a ravine last week.

Jack Harned, 44, was charged Monday in the death of Cheryl Romero, 57, also of Douglass. Romero’s body was found last Wednesday about five miles east of Augusta.

Murphy said Harned apparently worked for or with Romero on a Douglass ranch.

Harned is scheduled to appear in Butler County District Court at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 for a preliminary hearing. He remains in Butler County Jail on $750,000 bond.

Five students arrested for mailbox explosion

Emporia — Five Emporia High School students have been arrested in connection with an explosive that detonated in a middle school official’s mailbox, police said.

The students, who range in age from 14 to 17, were arrested Saturday on suspicion of arson and conspiracy to commit arson and released to their families, Deputy Police Chief Mike Williams said. The Lyon County prosecutor’s office said the students had not been charged as of late Tuesday morning.

The investigation began Jan. 28 after an explosive device went off in the mailbox at the residence of David Krumme, assistant principal at Emporia Middle School.

No one was hurt and the explosion caused no significant damage, Williams said.

House fire kills one

Belle Plain — One person was killed Tuesday when a house caught fire in this suburban Wichita town, police said.

Police Chief Ken Winter said a 55-year-old man was pulled from the home but later died at a Wichita hospital. The man’s name has not yet been released.

Investigators have not yet determined what caused the blaze.