Kansas woman 5th to be charged in killings of 3 people
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A grand jury indicted a Kansas woman on first-degree murder and other charges for her alleged involvement in the killing of three people earlier this year, Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said Saturday.
In addition to the three murder counts, Kora Liles, of Topeka, faces charges of aggravated kidnapping and assault, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported . Her attorney did not immediately reply to Associated Press requests for comment.
Authorities say 19-year-old Matthew Leavitt, 38-year-old Nicole Fisher, and 20-year-old Luke Davis were strangled or smothered to death with trash bags in March in a Topeka basement. Police say the violence stemmed from an unproven rape allegation against Leavitt.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Liles, 31, is among five people charged in the case. One man, Joseph Aaron Krahn, pleaded guilty last month to three counts of first-degree murder and is due to be sentenced Nov. 17. Three others — Brian Joseph Flowers, Joseph P. Lowry and Shane Andrew Mays — are awaiting trial.
Mays' attorney has said that Mays was forced to participate in the killings to "dirty his hands" and save his own life.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com