Lawrence man ordered to stand trial for first-degree murder in connection with stabbing at unsanctioned camp

photo by: Chris Conde/Special to the Journal-World

Julius Beasley appears on Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024, in Douglas County District Court. He has been ordered to stand trial in connection with the stabbing death of a woman at an unsanctioned homeless camp in North Lawrence.

A Lawrence man was ordered on Wednesday to stand trial for first-degree murder in connection with a stabbing in February at an unsanctioned homeless camp in North Lawrence.

Judge Stacey Donovan said that “while some of the evidence is confusing,” there was sufficient evidence after a two-part preliminary hearing to bind Julius Beasley, 40, over for trial. Donovan said her confusion was in reference to multiple witnesses who testified that there was very little blood on the victim’s body or in the area where she was found.

As the Journal-World has reported, Crystal White, 51, of Lawrence, was found dead in a tent near 100 Maple St. in North Lawrence in the early morning hours of Feb. 22. Beasley was arrested later that morning on suspicion of first-degree murder.

The first part of the preliminary hearing was held on Oct. 7, when a string of former residents of the camp testified about what they saw and heard that night leading up to White’s death. On Wednesday, the court heard from two law enforcement officers, several crime scene technicians and a paramedic with Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

Deputy District Attorney David Greenwald noted Wednesday that White had as many as 10 stab wounds on her body when she was examined by the Douglas County coroner. But witnesses said there were no pools of blood anywhere at the scene.

The paramedic who testified, Jasmin Ramirez, was part of the crew who made first contact with White. She said that when she was first called to the scene, it was for a report of a cardiac arrest. She did not know that White had been stabbed until she removed White’s clothing to get to her chest and found a couple of stab wounds that were not bleeding.

There was some blood on White, she testified, but it was soaked into White’s bra. Ramirez said she cut the rest of White’s clothes off and found more wounds, but there were no pools of blood of the kind that would normally accompany that type of puncture wound.

Greenwald asked Ramirez if it was possible that the blood could have pooled inside of White’s body, and Ramirez said that was a possibility.

A crime scene technician, Michaela Long, testified that she found several blankets at the scene that had reddish-brown stains on them. The stains tested positive for blood and were sent to the KBI for further analysis, but the results of those tests were not discussed Wednesday.

Long said there was not any blood on the walls of the tent or on the bed where White was found. She said they did recover a knife in the tent that had blood on it, and it too was sent to the KBI. Additionally, Long recovered seven syringes on the scene, but they were not tested since the crime was not believed to be drug-related.

Another piece of evidence discussed on Wednesday wasn’t found until autopsy: a pair of black gloves in White’s throat.

Crime scene technician coordinator Jana Ramsey testified that she had attended the autopsy and that one of the medical examiners recovered the gloves at that time. Ramsey said she sent the gloves to the KBI for DNA testing, and the results showed that on the inside of one of the gloves, there was evidence of a partial DNA match to Beasley.

Ramirez testified that she had intubated White at the scene, when she took over for a man who was doing CPR. She said she did not remember having trouble getting the tube down White’s throat, but that White did not respond to intubation, meaning that medics could not get air into White’s body. She said that she and her fellow paramedics all wore blue gloves on the job, and that she did not see any obstructions in White’s throat while intubating her, but that it was also very dark.

Detectives Sean Crellin and Nathan Haig both testified about their limited roles in the investigation. Haig said he met with Beasley after Beasley was arrested and took Beasley’s backpack into evidence. Inside the bag were a series of smaller bags nested inside of one another. In the smallest of the bags, he found financial cards belonging to White.

After binding Beasley over for trial, Donovan scheduled Beasley to be arraigned on Nov. 8, when his attorneys, Angela Keck and Branden Smith, are to work out a trial schedule with prosecutors Greenwald and Assistant District Attorney Samantha Foster.

Beasley is being held on a $500,000 bond. Beasley was originally charged with one count of interference with law enforcement in addition to the murder charge but Greenwald said that the state would not be pursuing that charge at this time.

photo by: Chris Conde/Special to the Journal-World

Julius Beasley and his attorneys Angela Keck and Branden Smith exchange evidence with Assistant District Attorney Samantha Foster on Oct. 30, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.