photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Rodney Marshall appears Friday, May 15, 2026, at his double-murder trial n Douglas County District Court.

Jurors are now deciding whether the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Rodney Marshall murdered two Lawrence men and attempted to murder several law enforcement officers during an alleged crime spree four years ago.

The Douglas County jury got the case shortly before 12:45 p.m. Friday and has nine counts to consider. Their instruction packet, read to them by Judge Amy Hanley, contained 50 pages and 41 instructions. In most instances, in addition to the crimes charged, they have also been been given lesser included offenses to consider. Jurors will also be considering the defense of voluntary intoxication — a defense that allows Marshall to argue that his drug use prevented him from forming intent or premeditation, which is required for the most serious charges.

Despite the number of charges, prosecutor David Melton told jurors during his closing argument that the most complicated thing about the case was the jury instructions.

The case itself was not complex, he said. “The facts are fairly simple.”

photo by: Contributed

Shelby McCoy was shot to death on July 31, 2022.

photo by: Contributed

William D. O’Brien was shot to death on July 31, 2022.

Melton argued that Marshall planned to kill Shelby McCoy, 52, and William O’Brien, 43, disguised himself in a costume and rode a moped to the men’s separate residences on July 31, 2022, and shot them both in “a premeditated cold-blooded killing.”

“He was on a mission,” Melton said. “He prepared for that mission, and he carried it out.”

He then confessed hours later, saying that he believed the men to be child molesters who deserved their fate — a confession that defense attorneys Jennifer Amyx and Branden Bell had fought to keep from the jury. Once admitted, though, they argued that it was all the product of Marshall’s heavy drug use, particularly in the days leading up to the killings. They acknowledged that Marshall led police on a chase on Kansas Highway 10 and shot from the window of his vehicle, but they maintained that he was not attempting to murder police officers.

Amyx, in an impassioned closing argument, told jurors that the state’s case couldn’t bear scrutiny.

“Let’s start by thinking of a maze,” she said, while displaying a large image of a maze with “REASONABLE DOUBT” printed above it, prompting Melton to immediately object. After a conference at the bench, the words “REASONABLE DOUBT” were removed from the maze image, and Amyx told the jury that “nothing I say is meant to define reasonable doubt” — a concept that in Kansas is never specifically defined for juries.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The defense team used this visual during their closing argument in the double-murder trial of Rodney Marshall on May 15, 2026, in Douglas County District Court.

Amyx went on to characterize Marshall as a heavy drug user who, even if he was at the men’s homes that night, wasn’t there alone.

“There has to be more people involved,” she said.

So why did he claim to commit the crimes? she asked.

“It was a grandiose delusion brought about by a PCP-fueled week,” she said, referring to a drug he had allegedly been tripping on that week.

Amyx criticized police for not recognizing that Marshall was in the throes of a drug trip and was perhaps delivering a false confession, but Melton countered that detectives had no reason to believe that and considered him to have communicated clearly and coherently with a “perfect memory.”

Amyx also argued, as defense attorneys regularly do, that the police had engaged in “confirmation bias” — that is, they were so certain Marshall was their culprit that they failed to look at anyone else. This included, Amyx said, failing to investigate a message on the day of the deaths between McCoy and someone else in which McCoy threatens to kill someone. She said police also failed to follow up on a message from a woman that said, “They killed Dale.” Dale referred to O’Brien, and the “they” suggested more than one killer, Amyx said.

“It does not add up,” she said. “It is not simple. It is far more complex than they want you to believe.”

In his rebuttal, Melton said, “There is no maze here. It’s more like a straight path.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Defense attorney Jennifer Amyx gives her closing argument in the double-murder trial of Rodney Marshall on Friday, May 15, 2026.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Deputy District Attorney David Melton gives his closing argument in the double-murder trial of Rodney Marshall on Friday, May 15, 2026, in Douglas County District Court.

Rodney Marshall appears Friday, May 15, 2026, at closing arguments in his murder trial in Douglas County District Court.