Prosecutors will be allowed to present at trial evidence of prior finance-related “crimes or civil wrongs” of a man charged with first-degree murder in the death of a local disabled man, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Ronald Eugene Heskett, 49, of Eudora, appears in court Aug. 14, 2015. Heskett is charged with first-degree murder in the September 2014 death of 65-year-old disabled Lawrence resident, Vance Van Moulton.

The defendant, Ronald Eugene Heskett, of Eudora, is accused of killing a 65-year-old man in his care on Sept. 12, 2014. Prosecutors alleged at a preliminary hearing that Heskett suffocated Vance “Van” Moulton for financial reasons, but Heskett claimed in a police interview that it was an assisted suicide.

Moulton, of Lawrence, had cerebral palsy and had limited mobility. Heskett worked as a home health care attendant for Moulton, who was found dead with a towel around his neck at his residence at Prairie Ridge Place Apartments, 2424 Melrose Lane.

Vance Van Moulton

Defense attorney Michael Warner has argued that the death was a mercy killing, after Moulton repeatedly asked Heskett to end his life. Testimony at a preliminary hearing earlier this year indicated Moulton suffered from depression and various physical pains associated with his illness.

Prosecutor Eve Kemple, however, sought to introduce evidence of Heskett’s history of financial struggles and civil wrongs. She plans to present evidence indicating that as much as $15,000 in cash belonging to Moulton was mysteriously missing from the death scene, and to argue that Moulton’s money was Heskett’s motive to kill.

According to Douglas County court records, the Internal Revenue Service had taken Heskett to court in 2001, and a debt collector had taken him to court in 2013.

Financial records and testimony at Heskett’s preliminary hearings indicated that Heskett spent nearly $5,000 on a car and deposited $2,000 into his bank account around the time of a cash withdrawal from Moulton’s safety deposit box. Kemple alleged Tuesday that kind of cash flow was unusual for Heskett’s financial history.

“The state will argue there are just too many coincidences,” Kemple said. “The only cash deposit in two years is $2,000 after (Moulton’s safety deposit box) withdrawal.”

Warner argued that Moulton’s allegedly missing money coupled with Heskett’s financial struggles did not equate to evidence of theft, calling the state’s motive theory “speculation.”

“You can certainly take any set of circumstances and spin them (into something nefarious),” Warner said. “This sideshow theft allegation in addition to homicide is not fair to my client.”

Douglas County District Judge Peggy Kittel ultimately sided with the state, granting the prosecution the authority to present Heskett’s “prior crimes or civil wrongs.”

Heskett remains in the Douglas County Jail on a $500,000 bond. His jury trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 14 — just two days after the anniversary of Moulton’s death.