Staff

Jesse Fray (Crime and Safety reporter)

I joined the 6News/Lawrence Journal-World team in April 2008. I’m the crime and safety reporter and I anchor 6News at 6, on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6.

Before coming to Lawrence, I worked at KTKA-TV, our sister station and the ABC affiliate in Topeka.

While there, I was awarded first place by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters in 2007 for an in-depth investigation into the safety of Topeka Public Schools. In 2008, I received third place in the same category for an investigation into a questionable transaction by the president of the local airport authority, who resigned a short time later.

I’m a lifelong Kansan and grew up in Wichita, where I began my news career as an assignment editor at KAKE-TV, the ABC affiliate.

While there, I was involved with coverage of the reemergence, arrest and trials of the BTK serial murders. The infamous Dennis Rader sent letters to KAKE-TV and others, connecting himself to some of the 10 murders he committed more than three decades earlier.

I graduated from Wichita State University's Elliott School of Communication. My appreciation for journalism developed in elementary school, when I published a weekly newspaper for my neighbors, called The Block News.

You can follow me on Twitter, @lawrencecrime, where I provide instant updates on crime news in the Lawrence area.

Recent stories

United Way about $800,000 short of $1.8 million campaign goal
Officials worry that many residents will go without if more donations aren’t made
01:00 p.m., November 20, 2009 Updated 01:51 p.m.
While campaign officials would not comment on how far along they were, in order to meet this year’s goal — the highest ever — they said more donations would be necessary.
Robbery occurred outside city limits, not in KU parking lot, police say
November 20, 2009
A Nov. 12 robbery that reportedly happened in a Kansas University parking lot actually happened in Douglas County, outside the city limits, KU police said Friday.
Lawrence man charged in hit-and-run accident that killed bicyclist
12:37 p.m., November 19, 2009 Updated 05:35 p.m.
Charges were filed Thursday against a Lawrence man accused in an Oct. 16 hit-and-run accident that resulted in the death of a bicyclist.
KU student pushes button that demolishes a portion of the Kansas Turnpike bridge
2nd explosion topples 2 sections
09:30 a.m., November 19, 2009 Updated 02:26 p.m.
Another part of the bridges that carried the Kansas Turnpike over the Kansas River for 50 years came down today.
Charges dismissed against Perry man in KU parking lot robbery case
12:17 p.m., November 18, 2009 Updated 04:06 p.m.
Charges were dismissed Wednesday against a Perry Man who was accused by police of robbing a man on Nov. 12 in a Kansas University parking lot, prosecutors said.
Men arrested on suspicion of cockfighting to make first court appearances
November 18, 2009
Two Douglas County men arrested on suspicion of cockfighting are scheduled to make their first appearances in court Wednesday afternoon, court workers said.
Two arrested in suspected Douglas County cockfighting ring; 169 birds seized from property
12:46 p.m., November 17, 2009 Updated 04:27 p.m.
Two people were arrested Tuesday after a cockfighting operation was raided at a rural Douglas County home south of Eudora, authorities said.
Snow arrives in big way
Giant flakes put on winter show
November 17, 2009
Mother Nature delivered her first punch of the season Monday, as a winter storm hit northeast Kansas.
Lecompton man dies from injuries he received in motorcycle accident
November 16, 2009
A Lecompton man died Sunday from injuries he received in a Nov. 6 motorcycle accident on Kansas Highway 10, a local funeral home said.
Highway Patrol to target game-day revelers
November 14, 2009
Kansas Highway Patrol troopers will be on the lookout for drunken drivers today after Kansas University’s last home football game of the year, against the University of Nebraska.

Full story list

Recent photos

This sedan collided with a tanker truck carrying liquid nitrogen at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and County Road 460. U.S. 59 was closed for several hours Monday as crews cleaned up the accident site.

Sarah Klebenstein and her neighbor Donald Haime stand outside Klebenstein’s mobile home in Eudora. The home was damaged early Tuesday by a fire, which was largely confined to the exterior of the structure.

Rescue crews work to help a man from the water at Bismarck Lake north of Lawrence on Thursday afternoon.

Full photo list