Victim in house fire still not identified

Eudora — Efforts continued Friday to positively identify a woman who died Thursday in a fire at 901 Ash.

An autopsy performed Friday showed that the victim possibly died of smoke inhalation, Eudora Police Chief Bill Long said. The autopsy also revealed the victim to be an elderly, petite black woman.

Neighbors said a woman named Naomi Kidd had lived in the house for years. Neighbors described her as an elderly black woman. Kidd has not been seen since the fire.

Eudora Police also were continuing to investigate the fire that nearly destroyed the one-story house. No cause for the fire has been determined but no criminal activity was suspected, Long said. The Eudora Police Department has an officer who is trained to investigate fires.

Courts: Hearing continued in fatal accident

A hearing scheduled for Friday in Douglas County District Court to determine whether a Lawrence teenager will be tried as an adult for involuntary manslaughter was continued to Monday.

Ashleigh N. Juola, 18, was charged as a juvenile in October with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly striking Lawrence resident Heather Coulter, 24, with her car.

Coulter died a few days after the Sept. 18, 2002, incident. Juola was 17 at the time.

Friday’s hearing was continued to 11:15 a.m. Monday because Juola’s attorney, Tim Riling, had a personal matter to attend to, court officials said.

Juola is being held in the Douglas County Jail without bond.

Crime: Robbery attempted at Lawrence Pizza Hut

An armed robbery was attempted Thursday night at Pizza Hut, 600 W. 23rd St., Lawrence Police said Friday.

Police said all but one of the restaurant’s employees were in a back room around 9:55 p.m. when a man walked in with a gun and demanded money.

The clerk at the counter ran to the back room from where the employees yelled they didn’t have any money. They then heard the man leave.

Police: Drug suspect arrested near East Heights School

Lawrence Police made a drug arrest Thursday night near East Heights School.

George Warren, 22, Lawrence, was arrested about 10:45 p.m. in the 1300 block of Haskell Avenue and charged with possession and intent to sell narcotics near a school.

Police found evidence of crack cocaine and marijuana. He also had $1,300 in cash in his pocket, according to a police report.

A police spokesman at a Friday briefing credited a recent story by Journal-World writer Dave Ranney for bringing public attention to the drug problem in east Lawrence.

The story focused on the suspension of Officer Stuart “Mike” Peck. A Douglas County District judge recently ruled that Peck misled the court by withholding and misrepresenting information used in getting a search warrant.

Courts: Motion deadline extended in double slaying case

Douglas County District Judge Michael Malone has extended the by a week the deadline for filing pre-trial motions in the capital murder case in which Damien Lewis, 22, is accused of killing George “Pete” Wallace and Wyona Chandlee.

The motions now are due Thursday.

Chandlee and Wallace, both 71, were found shot to death July 11, 2002, in their home at 1530 Learnard Ave.

Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney notified the court Jan. 23 that she would seek the death penalty for Lewis. Trial is tentatively set for Oct. 27.

Lewis is the first suspect to face capital murder charges in Douglas County since Kansas reinstated the death penalty in 1994.