Wife gets life without parole for at least 20 years for son's murder of husband

A woman who conspired along with her 20 year old son to kill the woman's husband was sentenced to life without parole for at least 20 years in a Topeka, KS courtroom Thursday, February 17.

44 year old Michelle Eberhardt was convicted of felony 1st degree murder for the murder by her son of 51-year-old Gerald “Jerry” Eberhardt. Judge Debenham said to the perpetrator, "You have violated the trust between a husband and a wife.[The family's] pain and suffering won't end today. It will continue for the rest of their lives." The shooting death rook place on October 25, 2009. Michelle's plea to felony 1st degree murder spared her a trial on premeditated first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and solicitation to commit murder.

Scott M. Mosher, 20, the alleged triggerman in his stepfather's murder, is scheduled to go on trial June 13 for premeditated first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated first-degree murder

According to facts presented in Eberhardt's plea, Michelle Eberhardt and Mosher had talked about killing her husband, a used car dealer in Topeka. Mosher said he knew someone who would kill Jerry Eberhardt for $2,000. Michelle paid the money, but Jerry Eberhardt wasn't shot. She negotiated with the man who had taken the $2,000, but the man wanted more money and a car from the lot.

Mosher told Michelle he had a pistol and would take care of the slaying. Michelle Eberhardt said the house at 2538 S.E. Shawnee Heights Road would be empty Oct. 25, 2009, after 12:30 a.m., and at 1:30 a.m., she heard a gunshot. When she found her husband, he was sitting up in bed in the master bedroom of the family home.

A third defendant, Derrick Dwayne Haase, now 21, of Topeka, pleaded no contest April 26 to a reduced charge of reckless second-degree murder. On July 22, Haase was sentenced to 10 years and 11 months in prison.

The victim's father, Duane Eberhardt, said that the Eberhardts tried to welcome Michelle and her two children, but that she was "unberable" and a "rat." Like good parents do, Duane tried to convince his son to divorce her, but Jerry claimed to still be in "love" with her. "Dad, I know you're right, but I love her," Jerry told his dad. "You’ve stolen part of my future. The father said he intended to live long enough "to urinate on you and your son's graves because neither one of you will survive your prison sentences."

The victim's mother Mary said that her son would protect his wife after Mosher would beat her when she refused to give him money for drugs. However, she repaid that concern with betrayal when after the murder, Michelle told Shawnee County deputies her husband was responsible for his murder. “Why? Why did you do it? Jerry loved you. We loved your family. Why did you betray us...“You killed Jerry. Scott just pulled the trigger. What mother would encourage her son to kill? You threw your son under the bus.”

At least one Topeka Capital-Journal commenter said that Jerry should have listened to his father instead of his heart regarding Michelle.

pleasurestud said,

Too bad the guy stayed with that wicked woman. He should have listened to his family to dump her sorry ass. In the end he loses his wife over "love"............whatever. It wasn't love.

Student, secret porn star, murdered, body found, killer convicted, sentenced to life without parole

This story, originally written on December 1st,2007, is about the murder and discovery of the body of Emily Sander, better known as Zoey Zane. It has been taken from the MSNBC website.

The identification of the body of Emily Sander, 18, was confirmed by a forensic orthodontist, El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren said. The body was released to Sander's family after forensic examinations and an autopsy. The results of that examination and the cause of death were sealed by the county attorney's office, and police would not release details about the cause of death.

Police also said Saturday they were re-interviewing witnesses, family and associates of suspect Israel Mireles, 24 and his pregnant 16-year-old girlfriend. They said his whereabouts were still unknown, but they believed she was still with him. Sander, 18, disappeared late Nov. 23 after leaving a bar with Mireles outside El Dorado, and police labeled Mireles a suspect in her disappearance.


The body was found Thursday about 50 miles east of El Dorado, along U.S. 54 near the Woodson County town of Toronto. Close to the body, investigators found a bedspread that had been missing from Mireles' El Dorado motel room, Boren said. Investigators found a large amount of blood in the room.

Sander's case drew wide attention after it was revealed that she appeared on a popular adult Web site under the name Zoey Zane. In some photographs, she appears merely scantily clad in lingerie or cowgirl outfits. Other pictures, some of which require viewers to pay for, are more explicit, showing her nude, fondling herself and posing with other women.

Mireles' girlfriend is seven months pregnant. Investigators think she remains with Mireles "on her own volition, but investigators fear for her continued welfare, as well as that of her unborn child," Boren said in a statement Friday.
The rental car the pair were driving was found abandoned Tuesday in Vernon, Texas, where Mireles has relatives. Sander's grandfather, Clem Sander of El Dorado, said Friday afternoon that relatives had begun preparing funeral arrangements.

Update: (12-22-07)
Mireles has been found, and charged with the rape and murder of college student (and secret porn star) Emily Sanders. Formal charges include capital murder, rape, and aggravated criminal sodomy. Mireles had been traveling with his 16 year old girlfriend Victoria Martens, who was found unharmed. The couple was found in Melchior Muzquiz, Mexico. Under an extradition agreement, Mireles will not face the death penalty for crimes against Sanders. Mireles will also face aggravated indecent liberties with a child for thew sexual relationship with Martens.
Reference:
Cops: Found Body Is Missing Student

Update (8-20-09)
After Mireles' preliminary hearing on Tuesday, August 18, Kansas Attorney General Steve Six laid out the reasons why Mireles should get a November 2 trial date. These reasons include the brutality of the attack when Sanders was raped and killed.

On Nov. 30, 2007, coroner Jaime Oeberst conducted the Sander autopsy. She found that the two entrance stab wounds had actually caused four perforations in the chest, meaning the weapon had been plunged in more than once in each spot.

Sander had been strangled; she had two phone cords around her neck.
Blunt-force injuries had caused her brain to swell. She had circular-pattern injuries that could be consistent with being struck with one of the beer bottles found in the motel room and an abrasion on one of her breasts that was consistent with a bite mark.

Oeberst also found that Sander had extensive sexual assault injuries. Diane Schunn, an expert on sexual assaults, also examined Sander and would later testify that she had never seen such extensive injuries.

Also, the background of Sanders' last night was explained by prosecutors.

(Update 2-14-10) After a 4 day trial with graphic testimony and 75 minutes of deliberation, Mireles was convicted Friday, February 12 afternoon of capital murder. Mireles made a flimsy defense about how a "mystery guy" robbed him, stayed in the motel room with Sanders, stabbed and raped her while Mireles was driving on the streets. The Kansas Attorney General personally prosecuted this case and cross-examined Mireles after he took the stand in his defense.

"So the guy came and attacked you, tried to get your money, and you just leave him there with Emily and all your stuff?" Kansas Attorney General Steve Six asked on cross-examination. "I just left," Mireles said.
"Did you tell anyone when you were coming back... or if you were coming back?" Six pressed. "No," Mireles said.

"This mystery guy didn't know if you were going to get the police... or go to the Retreat (bar) and get some friends" and return? "No," Mireles said.

Six also went over other details of Mireles' story. Mireles said he was so panicked he grabbed a knife that had Sander's blood on it —"the murder weapon," Six called it — and Sander's body, put them in the trunk of his car and later disposed of the body.

Mireles said that was correct. "Does this make any sense to you?" Six asked. "None of it makes any sense to me," Mireles said.
The savage abuse Sander suffered in her death didn't make sense to Six.

This abuse included two stab wounds which went in so deep into Sander's body that they left both entry and exit wounds, a brutal rape at knifepoint, and sodomy with a toilet plunger handle. A crime scene technician described the murder scene Tuesday, February 9.

Crime-scene investigator David Klamm said he spent two days working with a team to collect evidence from an El Dorado motel room where Israel Mireles had been staying. "Ms. Sander had been reported missing, and we had a bloody room," he said. "But we had to see if there was some connection."

Emily Sander, 18, had been missing for two days, when Klamm arrived at the El Dorado motel. Inside were blood-soaked bed sheets, carpet, splatters on chairs and articles of clothing, including a woman's bra.

Klamm found blood stains on the floor and on the handle of a toilet plunger nearby, lying underneath the front window and by the door to the room. There also was blood splattered across the arms of chairs underneath the window. From his training, Klamm recognized the spots on the chair as a "flow pattern," which means it fell from the source.

The phone jack lay nearby, ripped from the wall, Klamm testified today in Mireles' murder trial. Klamm also found a 9-inch piece of phone cord on the floor. It had blood on it, too. Blood seemed to cover the room, when the owner of the motel first looked inside the room.The broken window first drew the attention of I.C. Patel.

The victim's mother, Clara Biedinger, made this statement moments after the guilty verdict was announced.

"When I kissed her good-bye, I promised her we'd get him. And we did. We got him today...He won't ever hurt anyone else," she said. The mother's final kiss of her daughter took place at the morgue. Mireles will be sentenced March 31 by Butler County District Judge David Ricke.

(Update 4-10-10) Ten days ago, Judge Ricke sentenced Mireles to life without parole plus 203 months for his crimes. “The disrespect in which you treated Emily Sander in your short dealings with her was and is appalling,” he said as he passed sentence.

Sander's mother and father were in attendance, but her grandfather, Clem Sander and uncle Brent Blaine gave victim impact statements before the criminal judgement.

 "What you did was more like a savage animal, rather than a human being," Clem Sander said. Brent Blaine contrasted his niece's strong will with the cowardly acts of Mireles. "Her will was not broken that night, but you are still a pathetic little man." Mireles said nothing in mitigation.

Kansas DA Steve Six, who personally prosecuted the case, said “This is one of the most cruel and heinous cases my office has seen in some time. Our prayers are with Emily Sander’s family as they continue to grieve.”

Kansas city metro man faces death penalty for strangling wife, killing baby

A suburban Kansas City, KS man faces either the rest of his life in prison or the death penalty for killing his wife, then dumping her body along the side of the road. Jason Cott, 30, of Overland Park, KS, was charged with capital murder for strangling his wife, and killing their unborn child. Capital murder carries life without parole or the death penalty. Johnson County prosecutors also have the option of filing two 1st degree murder charges, which carry a minimum sentence of 50 years without parole.

On Jan. 20, authorities found the body of Angela Cott, 29, along U.S. 69 in Miami County but soon transferred the case to Lenexa police. They said they believed she was killed at the Knights Inn, 9630 Rosehill Road.

The capital charge is possible because of what is known as Alexa’s Law, passed three years ago. The Kansas law makes it a crime to kill or wound an unborn child during an attack on the mother. The law is similar to federal law signed in 2004. It was passed after Scott Peterson killed his wife, Laci, and her unborn son in California.

This is the second time the Kansas law has been used in Johnson County. The first time this charge was used was when Brandon Reed killed his "girlfriend," Christina Osburn, in her Shawnee KS apartment. He was sentenced to life without parole last year.

Kansas AG - Domestic violence a growing problem in state

By Steve Six

For most families, the holidays are a time to be thankful and share time together. Unfortunately, for some Kansas families this time of year can bring stress, anger and even violence.

It is absolutely critical that we raise awareness about the programs and services available to families in crisis. Many communities have shelters dedicated to protecting women, men and children from abusive family members. Some also have services to assist batterers in stopping abusive behavior and violence.

Significant efforts have been made in recent years to combat the ever-present problem of domestic abuse. My office stepped up efforts to help local shelters that assist families in crisis situations by increasing training for local programs, providing grant funding and improving services available to victims.

We also created the Domestic Violence Shelter Improvement Program, which encourages businesses and corporations to support domestic violence shelters across the state through monetary or in-kind contributions. Along with Walmart, we also developed an awareness campaign and distributed posters containing information about domestic violence services and prevention.

Recently, I established the Batterer Intervention Unit and Advisory Board, to develop effective batterer intervention programs throughout the state. We believe that developing these programs is a critical step toward improving our statewide response to domestic violence and better addressing a batterer's cycle of abuse.

My office also coordinated the development of the law enforcement model policy on stalking to better protect victims. We provided regional law enforcement training across the state regarding the new stalking law to ensure uniform response to these serious crimes.

With efforts being made on all sides of the problem, it is troubling that fatalities related to domestic violence are increasing. With economic stress and financial pressure, many more families may be in crisis. It is critical that each of us works to ensure that families in our communities have access to quality services. Domestic violence affects all Kansas communities.

With two major multiple homicides this year, the number of fatalities related to domestic violence is on the rise. If you or someone you know is struggling with abuse, please seek assistance from law enforcement or a domestic violence program. You can contact 888-END-ABUSE for assistance. You have a right to be safe.

To find out more about services available in your community, call the Attorney General's Victim Service Division at 800-828-9745.

Kansas police officer who sexted woman facing DUI charges pleads guilty to wire fraud

A Goddard, KS police officer pled guilty to a single count of wire fraud Wednesday, September 2, for sexting a picture of himself and demanding sex from a woman motorist in exchange for her DUI charges being dropped. Calvin Schaffer, 44, was charged with wire fraud because his actions defrauded the citizens of Goddard, KS of his honest services as a police officer, according to U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch.

In his plea, Schaffer admitted to arresting a woman for driving under the influence of alcohol on Feb. 27, as well as later contacting the woman and suggesting he could arrange for the charge to be dismissed if she would have sex with him, Welch said. Prosecutors said Schaffer used police department computers to send e-mails and photographs to the woman while he was on duty. Welch said Schaffer was partially undressed and nude in the photos.

The case became federal because the electronic correspondance traveled through servers on Virginia and California servers. Schaffer faces 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing November 16.

Lawrence, KS rapist sentenced to 26 years for cold case rape

A Kansas rapist who attacked a Kansas University junior a dozen years ago was sentenced to 26 years in prison yesterday, August 21. Douglas County District Court Judge Peggy Kittel inposed the 314 month sentence after Assistant District Attorney Amy McGowan read the victim's plea. “I was beyond scared, beyond terrified. My life has been changed forever. Please don’t allow this nightmare to happen to another innocent person,” the now Floridian said.

Robert Gray, now 36, was convicted of rape after kidnapping the victim from Naismith Hall, taking her to the old tennis courts at Lawrence High School in Lawrence, KS and raping her on May 11, 1997 around 11:45 PM. The victim's boyfriend saw the abduction, and while police were taking his statements, the victim drove up to the officer and said she was raped. Grey was not convicted of kidnapping because the 5 year statute of limitations had ran out and Grey was charged in 2007.

FBI's Automated Fingerprint Identification System identified Grey's prints as matching prints lifted from the victim's car back in 1997. Grey's DNA was stored by authorities after being convicted of more crimes, enabling police to match his DNA with DNA taken from the rape kit.

Before the sentencing, Grey’s attorney, Jessica Travis, argued for a new trial, claiming her client was denied his right to a fair trial. Travis went so far as to accuse the state of prosecutorial misconduct, arguing McGowan intentionally withheld information that she was required to turn over to the defense.

Travis’ main complaint had to do with a surprise identification of the defendant by the victim in court during the first day of the trial. The woman had previously never identified Grey in open court.

“There were too many things withheld,” Travis told the judge, “and in the long run, it essentially stripped Mr. Grey of his right to a fair trial.”

But Kittel ruled the evidence in the case was overwhelming and any changes would not have affected the outcome of the trial.

Grey's lawyer also said that her client should be sentenced under the more lenient 1999 Kansas sentencing guidelines rather than the more punitive 1997 guidelines. She also asked that her client's criminal history past 1997 be disregarded. Both motions were denied by Judge Kittel.

The victim wrote in her impact statement that "Time heals all wounds, but a scar never goes away.” Grey did not testify at his sentencing.

"Boyfriend" sentenced to life without parole for killing mother of his unborn child

A Shawnee, KS man who slit his baby mama's throat was sentenced to life without parole Thursday, April 9. Brandon N. Reed, 23, pled guilty to capital murder in the November 27, 2008 death of Christina Osburn, 21 and pregnant with Reed's child. Osburn was found nude with her throat slit in her Shawnee, KS apartment. Reed fled towards the US/Mexico border, but was captured after US Border Patrol agents found his burned out car.

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe read a statement from the victim’s family before the sentencing.

They said of Osburn: “Her friends called her the mother of her group because she was the first to help those who needed help. … She could have been a shining light in our community.”

The victim's parents were pleased with the LWOP sentence, though they said that their daughter's killer deserved death.

"Brandon Nicholas Reed viciously and without mercy beat our precious daughter to near unconsciousness, cut her throat from ear to ear and held the front door closed as she attempted to run for help....Don’t be deceived into thinking you can change an abuser.”

Reed was accused of abusing Osburn before, and was on probaion for setting his ex-wife's car on fire. The victim's parents said Reed pretended that he loved her and got her to pay for his child suport because he was unemployed. They gave a warning to other victims.

"If you are in an abusive relationship, call for help NOW. If you can’t do it for yourself, please, do it for Christina and her family.”

Man who blackmailed woman into sex convicted of rape - faces 60 years

(Original Post July 30)
A Topeka, KS man was convicted of blackmailing a woman into sex by using information obtained from her computer to coerce her into the sexual activity. Robert Hetch, the prosecutor in the case, will seek the maximum sentence at sentencing September 5. James Brooks III, 39, was convicted of a count of rape, 2 counts of blackmail, and a single sount of breach of privacy, according to the Shawnee County DA.

Brooks forced the victim to engage in sex with him by blackmailing her with threats of "taking actions that would severely impact the lives of several persons" by using information he gained from the victim's computer, Hecht said. He said the information wasn't of any criminal conduct.

Maximum sentences, if run consecutively, total 60 years in prison.

(Update 9-12-08) Brooks was sentenced to over 15 years in prison on September 5 - 155 months for the rape, and a year each for 2 counts of blackmail and a count of invasion of privacy.

Man convicted on rape regarding woman he met at bar

(Original Story 5-31-08)
Shaun Tappendick, 27, was convicted of rape, aggravated burglary and attempted criminal sodomy for a sexual attack on a woman he had met at a Salina, KS bar on July 31, 2007. He was convicted by a Saline County District Court after under three hours of afternoon deliberations Thursday, May 29. Bond was revoked and Tappendick was taken to the Salina county jail to await sentencing July 16.

Much of the testimony during the trial centered around the timeline of the night's events and cell phone calls made by Tappendick and his accuser.

"The time frame doesn't fit, and that's where the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt comes in, as well as the lack of evidence," defense attorney Roger Struble told jurors during his closing argument.

Witnesses testified that Tappendick and some of his friends went to two bars, the accuser's home and a private house party that night. Tappendick left the party about 3:30 a.m. and arrived home sometime shortly before 4 a.m., defense witnesses said.

The defense claimed Tappendick had been at the woman's home briefly after leaving a bar earlier in the night, but did not return.

Struble asserted that Tappendick would not have had time to drive from the party to the accuser's home, pry open a window, assault the woman and make it home between 3:30 and 4 a.m., when his now ex-wife testified that he got home.

The prosecution argued that after Tappendick left the party, he made several calls to his accuser. Those calls went unanswered because the woman was in bed, said Prosecutor Christina Trocheck, an assistant Saline County attorney.

The last of those calls was made at 3:33 a.m. No more calls were made from Tappendick's phone until 4:03 a.m.

Trocheck said that during that time, Tappendick drove to the accuser's home, used a tool to pry a screen off the window and attacked the woman, who was asleep in her bed.

Tappendick's 4:03 a.m. phone call was to a friend. The victim also called a friend about the same time. Trocheck said both calls were made just after Tappendick left the woman's house.

In the 15 minutes following the attack, Tappendick left two messages on the accuser's phone. Records indicate that in both messages, he apologized for "that." The defense asserted Tappendick's apologies were for an altercation he had been in at the bar earlier in the night with the accuser's ex-boyfriend.

Trocheck said that didn't make any sense. The altercation would have happened hours prior and Tappendick, according to both his and the accuser's testimony, had seen the woman since that time.

"It's crystal clear what he was apologizing for," Trocheck said.

(Update 8-26-08) Tappendick was sentenced to 12 years, 11 months for the rape.

6 months probation for boyfriend of woman stuck to toilet

NESS CITY, Kan. (AP) - A man whose girlfriend sat on a toilet for so long that the seat adhered to her body will spend six months on probation.

Kory McFarren pleaded no contest last month to a misdemeanor count of mistreatment of a dependent adult. A judge sentenced him Tuesday to six months in jail but granted the probation after the victim, Pam Babcock, asked for leniency.

"She didn't believe that her circumstances were his fault," Ness County Attorney Craig Crosswhite said.

Babcock's plight became known in February when McFarren called the Ness County sheriff, expressing concern about his live-in girlfriend. When authorities arrived, they found Babcock physically stuck to the toilet.

McFarren told police Babcock had refused to come out of the bathroom for two years. Medical personnel estimated she'd been sitting on the toilet for at least a month and said the seat had adhered to sores on her body.

She is now under the protection of a guardian who was appointed through the legal department at the hospital where she received treatment. Also Tuesday, McFarren was sentenced to six months in jail for an unrelated charge of lewd and lascivious behavior for exposing himself to a teenage neighbor in March.

Man gets probation in sexual assault on acquaintence

Juan Cortez-Rios, 29, was sentenced to 2 years probation for sexually assaulting a former female friend on New Years' Day. He originally faced rape and disorderly conduct charges in the assault on his 25 year old ex-friend, but charges were amended to aggravated sexual battery and identity theft.

Prosecutor Christina Trocheck, an assistant Saline County attorney, said at the sentencing Friday that the identity theft charge related to Cortez-Rios’ use of another person’s identity to gain and maintain employment at a Salina manufacturing plant.

District Judge Rene Young sentenced Cortez-Rios to 13 months in prison on the aggravated sexual battery charge, and eight months on the identity theft charge. The two sentences were to be served consecutively.

Both sentences were suspended and Cortez-Rios was place on probation for 2 years. He was also ordered to undergo DNA testing and pay a variety of court costs and fees.

Kansas teacher charged with sex offense against a 17 year old student

Katherine Harder, 31, was fired by the Manhattan, KS school district Wednesday, April 2 after internal discipline for alleged sexual contact with a 17 year old boy . According to police, she was caught allegedly having sex with a 17 year old student 10 PM Wednesday, March 26 at the Spillway Marina, a park just outside Manhattan, KS. She resigned the next day, but rescinded her resignation, and this led to the hearing on April 2 where she was fired.

On April 2, Harder was fired by a 7-0 closed door decision by the Manhattan, KS school board. In Kansas, while teens can legally consent to sex with adults who are not in a position of authority when they turn 16, teacher/student sex below the college level is a criminal offense regardless of the student’s age. Teachers also automatically lose their licenses in Kansas when they are convicted of engaging in teacher /student sex.

The school district released a statement through their communication director, Michelle Jones.

“Our concern is about taking care of our students, making sure that the transition to a different teacher goes smoothly for them. Talking with parents about the situation, talking with our staff about the situation.”

"Ms. Harder was a language arts teacher at Manhattan High School. She had worked for us for about three years, and she resigned from employment this morning," Jones said.

Though this arrest has rattled the Manhattan School District, Jones says it's not the school's first sex scandal.

"I had heard through the..just the grapevine that it happened many years ago, so that would have been at least nine years ago, which would have been before my time," Jones said.

Harder faces between 5 and 13 months in prison if convicted of unlawful sexual relations. She was released on $3000 bond March 27. She worked for the Manhattan-Odgen public schools for three years teaching 10th through 12th graders, and also taught at Kansas State University.

Kansas rapist convicted after two previous hung juries

After two previous mistrials and a lengthy deliberation, a Kansas man was convicted of raping a 19 year old Olathe, KS woman at her home May 19, 2006. Cesar Lopez-Martinez, 30 was convicted of rape even while maintaining his innocence and that the sex was consensual.

The ruling comes after juries in August and December couldn’t reach unanimous verdicts. District Court Judge John Anderson III declared each of the previous trials mistrials. Anderson said before this trial that another hung jury may have caused him to dismiss the case.

“Justice took a long time in this case,” Assistant District Attorney Jill Kenney said. “The jury was ultimately able to reach a decision, and that’s how the system works.”

Kenney added that she’s pleased for the victim’s sake that the case was resolved.

Defense attorney Jessica Travis argued at each trial that the sexual act that occurred between Lopez-Martinez and the victim was consensual, which has been Lopez-Martinez’s stance since the beginning.

“He maintains his innocence, and he was hoping to be found innocent today,” she said.

Travis said she will file a motion of acquittal before Lopez-Martinez’s sentencing hearing because she doesn’t believe the prosecution presented enough evidence for a jury to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Kenney said she would file a response to Travis’ motion.

Lopez-Martinez, who is facing 147 to 165 months when he is sentenced April 17, will be credited for 22 months he has served in jail.