WRITER: Kim Callahan

Jury acquits man accused of gouging student's eyes; defendant says he was acting in self-defense after a racist attack

A Douglas County jury on Tuesday took under an hour to acquit a man of aggravated battery after he was accused of attacking another man last winter and gouging his eyes. The man, Hector Seeger, 21, took the stand Tuesday morning and admitted that he had "poked" the other man's eyes after the two left a Lawrence bar on March 7, but he told the jury that he did it in self-defense after the other man called him a ...

Judge denies school district's request to halt civil cases until speech pathologist's sex-abuse case is over

A Douglas County judge presiding over two lawsuits against the Lawrence school district related to allegations of sexual abuse at an elementary school denied the district's request to halt the civil proceedings until the criminal case is entirely completed. Judge Catherine Theisen is overseeing two civil suits brought by separate child plaintiffs against the district, one filed on March 6 and one filed on March ...

At trial, student says defendant gouged his eyes in late-night attack after leaving bar

A college student on Monday told a Douglas County jury that shortly after he left a bar one night last winter another young man jumped him, gouged his eyes and pulled him to the ground. The 21-year-old student said that the man — defendant Hector Seeger, who is charged with the felony of aggravated battery — was an acquaintance from high school with whom he was not close. The reason for the alleged attack ...

Even in retirement, former police lieutenant plans to 'keep showing up' for the community

When Lt. Myrone Grady appeared in a Topeka courtroom accused of hitting a man while off duty at a kids' basketball game, the gallery was so packed with his supporters that the judge said he'd find a bigger courtroom for the next hearing. That was heartening to Grady — or “OG,” as he’s widely known in Lawrence, short for “Officer Grady” — as were the hundreds of social media comments attesting to ...

Doctor claiming baby died from abuse spends 6 hours defending her findings and expertise on cross-examination

A wrongful conviction trial that was expected to conclude Thursday will spill into next week after the plaintiff’s attorney spent the entire day attempting to discredit a doctor who concluded that a baby had died from abuse, not natural causes. During an often tense six hours, Dr. Terra Frazier, a child abuse pediatrician from Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, stood firmly by her findings that ...

Child abuse pediatrician says baby died from injuries, not natural causes; detective grilled over investigation

Child abuse is what killed a 9-month-old boy at a Eudora day care, not natural causes, according to a child abuse pediatrician who testified Wednesday at the wrongful conviction trial of Carrody Buchhorn, a day care worker who was accused of murdering the baby nine years ago. The opinion of pediatrician Terra Frazier, a witness for the state, directly contradicted the testimony of forensic pathologist Jane ...