Its been nearly a year since the Kansas Court of Appeals reversed the conviction and sentence for a Wichita man convicted of second degree intentional murder for the death of Kenneth White.
It was on September 1, 2008, that the victim was found shot to death with two wounds, one to the leg, then the fatal shot to the head. His body was found after his brothers girlfriend became concerned because he didn’t answer his phone.
32-year-old Felton Williams Jr., along with Aubrey Oliver and Ronald Beard were stopped by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troopers three times the day of the murder. The third time led to a search of the vehicle because of a possible open container. During that search, they found a weapon that belonged to White in the glove box of the vehicle, that being a Hi-Point 9 mm, pistol that had been reported stolen from the victims west side Hutchinson home. That sent two detectives to Oklahoma where Williams was interviewed and allegedly admitted to the killing. He was convicted and sentenced to 20-years in prison.
Williams appealed his conviction saying the search of his vehicle by the Oklahoma troopers was illegal. He also sought to suppress his confession saying it was not made voluntarily, but the District Court denied the motions.
The case comes back to District Court and is scheduled for a status hearing Friday afternoon in front of Judge Trish Rose. The will let us know if the state plans to prosecute him on the charges again.
Aubrey Oliver entered a plea in the case and is serving 11-years in prison, while Beard was found not guilty by a Reno County jury after spending two years in the county jail awaiting trial.