photo by: Journal-World File

Defense attorney Michael Clarke delivers his closing argument at a trial on May 5, 2022, in Douglas County District Court.

A defendant accused of killing a local actor in a reckless highway collision last fall has been granted another two-month delay in the case so that his attorney can obtain expert assistance regarding “technical aspects” of the case.

Meanwhile, questions remain about why at least a third — and separate — DUI case wasn’t filed against the defendant until three days after the fatality.

Michael Clarke, the appointed attorney for Eliseo Munoz, who is accused of second-degree murder in the death of 41-year-old Louise ImMasche on Oct. 24, 2025, said in a motion that he required at least another 60 days to consult with an expert on “crash reconstruction, vehicle data event recorder analysis, and related forensic evidence.”

The state did not oppose the motion for a continuance, and the preliminary hearing that was scheduled for this month will now be sometime later this year. A June 16 status conference has been set by Judge Stacey Donovan at which time a new date for a preliminary hearing will be selected. At such a hearing, a judge hears evidence and decides whether probable cause exists to order the defendant to stand trial.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said at the time of the crash that Munoz was westbound in a Chevrolet Tahoe on the South Lawrence Trafficway and ImMasche was eastbound when Munoz’s vehicle went left of the center line and struck ImMasche’s Kia Forte head on. ImMasche had been driving home after a production at Theatre Lawrence.

Clarke fought the release of Munoz’s arrest affidavit. He said that the public didn’t need to see the “granular” information in the affidavit but should be satisfied with the charging document, which lists nothing but general information such as charges, dates and the people involved.

If the public were to see the allegations in the affidavit, Clarke said, they might become prejudiced against Munoz ahead of his trial. Clarke specifically asked the court to black out words that Munoz is alleged to have said to police, toxicology details and information related to “technical evidentiary assertions,” which would presumably include information such as his vehicle’s speed. Rather than blacking out particulars, however, Donovan decided that no part of the affidavit could be seen by the public and sealed the document in its entirety.

An arrest affidavit is a sworn document by police detailing why they believed they had probable cause to take a person into custody.

Last month, the state filed a notice that it plans to offer statements at trial that Munoz gave to law enforcement officers. If Munoz objects to those statements being admitted at trial, a hearing will be held to determine whether the statements are admissible.

In addition to the second-degree murder charge, Munoz, who was critically injured in the crash, is also facing one count of circumventing an ignition interlock device, one count of reckless driving and one count of driving with a suspended or revoked license.

He is also facing charges of a third DUI and driving while suspended in a separate case from March 2024. In that case, the charging document indicates that his blood alcohol level was 0.24, which is three times the legal limit. Those charges were filed on Oct. 27, 2025, three days after ImMasche’s death.

It is not clear why an alleged third DUI from March 2024 wasn’t charged until one year and seven months later — and directly on the heels of the fatal collision.

In another case involving a vehicular fatality — that of William Klingler, who is charged in connection with a 20-year-old KU student’s death — Douglas County District Attorney Dakota Loomis told the Journal-World that a monthslong delay in KBI lab tests explained why a man arrested on suspicion of a fourth (or more) DUI on Aug. 30, 2025, wasn’t charged until March of 2026. The student, Elsa McGrain, was killed on Nov. 6, nine weeks after Klingler’s arrest in the earlier case but months before he was charged.

“Until these lab reports were completed and submitted to our office we could not file a complaint,” Loomis told the Journal-World of the Klingler case. “We did not receive those reports until mid-January.”

When asked whether he had any concerns about testing backlogs at the KBI and how those affect public safety, Loomis said that “any delay” can put the public at risk.

“The Legislature funds the KBI and has demonstrated through their budget what they believe is an acceptable delay and therefore risk that delay poses to the public,” he said.

The Journal-World has reached out to Loomis regarding the delay in the Munoz case.

Munoz, 24, is being held on a bond of $750,000 in the murder case. Prosecutor David Melton told a judge in February that Munoz posed “an extreme risk to the public” if he were to be released.

This is a developing story and will be updated.