WRITER: Chris Conde

Attorney for man alleged to have shot at Baldwin City buildings with intent to kill claims confession was too 'bizarre' and should be suppressed

The attorney for a man alleged to have shot at a Baldwin City bar and library with the intent to kill says the man’s confession was coerced and should have been too bizarre for investigators to believe. The defendant, Junah Augustus Sisney, 22, of Baldwin City, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of attempted capital murder. Sisney faces life in prison if he is convicted. Sisney is ...

Lawrence man allowed to withdraw guilty plea in fentanyl death case; trial set for July

A Lawrence man was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea in a fentanyl death case on Friday, and he now faces a July trial in the case. Benjamin Mims, 37, pleaded guilty on May 17 to one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of unlawful distribution of fentanyl, as the Journal-World reported. He was originally charged with distribution of a controlled substance causing death, a more severe felony. Mims ...

Topeka man charged in Douglas County with raping 14-year-old girl

A Topeka man is charged in Douglas County with raping a 14-year-old girl. The man, Tyler Lee Patterson, 19, faces two felony counts of rape, according to charging documents. The charges are in connection with two incidents involving the same girl between May and August of 2024. Patterson was arrested in Topeka on April 21 and was taken to Douglas County on Wednesday afternoon. If convicted, Patterson faces ...

Trial delayed for man accused of stabbing a woman to death at North Lawrence homeless camp

A Douglas County judge agreed on Wednesday to delay the trial of a man accused of stabbing a woman to death in a tent at a homeless camp in North Lawrence. Julius Robert Beasley, 41, of Lawrence, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of 51-year-old Crystal Marie White on Feb. 22, 2024. White died at a camp that was once home to ...

Newly retired KU paleontologist looks back on 27 years of telling prehistoric creatures' stories

For David Burnham, paleontology isn't just a science — it's storytelling, and the stories are written in ancient creatures' bones. Last week, he gave a performance of one of these prehistoric dramas for the Journal-World at the paleontology lab at the University of Kansas' Dyche Hall. In a box is the fossilized skull of one of the players — a baby triceratops that he found in Montana. The skull has scratch ...

Charges dismissed against man accused of kidnapping and threatening a woman with a machete

Charges have been dismissed against a Lawrence man accused of kidnapping and threatening a woman with a machete. The man, Daniel Louis Schuckman, 48, was charged with one count each of kidnapping, aggravated intimidation of a witness, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, interference with law enforcement and criminal threat, all felonies, and one count each of criminal deprivation of property and domestic ...