photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The home at 2501 W. 24th Terrace is where Marcus Cassella lived and where a death occurred overnight. The house is pictured late Saturday morning, April 18, 2026.

Story updated at 3:50 p.m. April 20, 2026:

A 25-year-old man was charged Monday with first degree-murder in the death of his grandmother.

Marcus Logan Cassella, whose bond has been set at $1 million, is accused of killing 70-year-old Lynn Audrey Abrams on Saturday at a Lawrence home in the 2500 block of West 24th Terrace. Police said that Cassella had confessed to strangling Abrams.

Cassella was arrested early Saturday morning after he reportedly told an emergency dispatcher over the phone that he had committed the crime.

Police said they found Abrams unresponsive in a bed at the home.

Cassella made his first court appearance on Monday afternoon. There, the complaint was read aloud to Cassella, which is not typical. When Judge Stacey Donovan asked Cassella whether he wanted a court-appointed attorney, he responded, “No thank you.” Donovan then appointed Razmi Tahirkheli and said that if Cassella changed his mind after talking to Tahirkheli, he could represent himself.

The state was represented by legal intern Lauren Lawson, who called Cassella a severe flight risk and a severe safety risk to the community. Lawson cited a level of premeditation in this crime and started to refer to Cassella “looking at a Magic 8 Ball.” Then Donovan interrupted her: “Please don’t go into details; I’ve read the affidavit.” She presumably meant the arrest affidavit, which would detail why law enforcement believed they had probable cause to take Cassella into custody.

Kansas Department of Corrections records indicate that Cassella was convicted of aggravated assault in 2020. He was released from supervision in that case in April 2023. Three months later, in July 2023, he was accused of battering a woman in Douglas County. That case was originally charged as aggravated battery, a felony, and criminal restraint, but it was pleaded down to misdemeanor battery. Lawson said that in the 2023 case, Cassella put a stranger in a chokehold as she was walking her dog.

In the 2020 case, as the Journal-World reported, a then 19-year-old Cassella allegedly cut an employee of Casey’s General Store, 1703 W. Sixth St., with a knife. He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery and interference with law enforcement, according to the Douglas County Jail booking log. When officers arrived, they found Cassella being restrained by another employee of the store. He eventually pleaded no contest to aggravated assault.

Cassella, appearing by video from the jail Monday, was given the opportunity to weigh in on his bond amount. Donovan cautioned him to speak only about the bond matter and nothing else — because any statements he made could be used against him. After a long silence and a second prompt from Donovan, Cassella indicated that he did not wish to speak.

Cassella’s next court appearance, a status conference, has been set for May 5.