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her husband. The jailer refused, and she then fled, but was later arrested and charged with attempted prison escape. On March 5, 1981, Priest was convicted of Lewis' murder and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. He filed for retrial twice, but both motions were denied by
Justice William Kimberlin. The following year, Genieve committed suicide. In 1983, Martin filed another retrial, but this time successfully received an acquittal - since no cause of death could be determined, there was no conclusive proof that she hadn't died accidentally, and thus, he was released.
255:, Katrina moved to Wichita in December 1983 to live with her mother, and was described as a nice friendly girl. Her partly decomposed nude body was discovered in a culvert by a farmer on February 28, 1985, after he decided to inspect what his dog had barked at for the last month. She was positively identified as Cheely from a school book and a ring she was wearing. The forensic examiner, Dr. William Eckert, determined that she had been asphyxiated, but hadn't been sexually assaulted.
272:, with a single gunshot wound to the head. He was discovered by flood control supervisor Bob Jennings while he was checking the floodways. According to Jennings, it was likely that Mayhugh had been in there since the weekend, as he still wore clothes suited for the cold weather. The following day, 33-year-old Frieda Bayliff was discovered dead at the home the couple shared. She had been strangled to death. Both were last seen by relatives on
227:. She was last seen entering Priest's car, which was additionally occupied by his nephew, 13-year-old David Nicholas. According to Nicholas, Priest knocked the girl unconscious with a wrench, before proceeding to rape and strangle her. He then abandoned the body at a local residence, but he then returned to the dump site and disposed of it in another location.
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In March 1985, Martin Priest, who was serving time for theft, posted bond and went under the radar. Hours after his release, new evidence collected from an obtained firearm, a .32-caliber pistol, pointed towards his guilt in the
Mayhugh-Bayliff slayings, and authorities started searching for him. On
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Martin and
Katrina's mother, Linda Hall, had met in 1984, shortly after the former moved to Wichita. Hall, who described her new boyfriend as a very nice person, noted that on the day of her daughter's disappearance, Martin was at the home. Katrina was running late for school, and he had offered her
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On the day Tonya had disappeared, he had been jailed on charges of forgery and theft. While awaiting his capital murder trial, Priest's third wife, 32-year-old
Genieve, attempted to break him out of jail on August 5. She struck the prison guard on the back of the head and demanded that they release
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After a few-month long trial, Priest was convicted of killing
Mayhugh, but acquitted in Bayliff's death. He received a mandatory life sentence, with eligibility for parole in 15 years. In 1987, Debra Yoder, Priest's fourth wife, told the police that she had received Cheely's bracelet as a birthday
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Sheriff
Department, she had died about two days prior. Initially, the cause of death couldn't be determined and no obvious signs of wounds could be located after the autopsy, but the authorities nevertheless treated the case as a suspected homicide. Almost a month later, 22-year-old local Martin
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At the time, Priest was part of a painting crew and was working in the Lewis household when he overheard a conversation between Tonya and a friend, Kelly
Schumacher, who wanted to go to the municipal pool. He excused himself before his boss with a supposed job interview, but instead went to see
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In 2016, Nicholas came forward to the police and informed them on the circumstances of
Rothganger's killing. Using his testimony, Priest was charged with her death, and successfully convicted two years later, receiving another life sentence. While investigators believe her body has been buried
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Tonya, allegedly making arrangements for the two of them to play basketball later. After Lewis failed to return home, her mother, Shirley, questioned Martin about the disappearance, but he explained that after he left their supposed game, he went home and stayed there all night.
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December 27–28, two bodies were found to the north-northwest part of Wichita. Both victims had been shot, which led to speculation that the deaths were related. The male victim, 25-year-old William H. Mayhugh, was found in a ditch near the
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a ride there. According to testimony from Martin's fourth wife, Debra Yoder, he bragged to her that he had driven around the neighborhood and then tried to molest
Katrina. When she resisted, he strangled her with her own pantyhose.
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present from him. This was considered enough evidence to charge Martin with the girl's death, but in a shocking turn of events, he was found not guilty on December 12.
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Middle School, was found floating on a farm pond about 11 miles south of the city by two men who had gone fishing. According to the
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On November 16, 1984, 15-year-old Katrina Cheely mysteriously vanished after leaving for Allison Junior High School in
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Priest was arrested for the death, now determined to be a drowning, remaining in custody with a $ 250,000 bond.
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Priest met the pair through Frieda, who worked as a waitress at the same Wichita bar where he met Linda Hall.
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451:"Capital murder charge filed in 31 year old cold case of missing Eldon teen"
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592:"Martin Priest guilty of first-degree murder in case of missing Eldon girl"
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in three other murders, all of which he has nonetheless been acquitted.
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On June 15, 1980, the body of 12-year-old Tonya Lea Lewis, a student at
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April 30, Priest was arrested without incident at the Todd Motel in
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326:"Murderer Or Serial Killer? Martin Priest's Troubling History"
169:. Convicted of murdering a young girl and a man in both
453:. Lake News Online. January 5, 2016. Archived from
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428:"Murder trial to open to death of ex-girl, Page 2"
165:(born 1957) is an American murderer and suspected
668:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
618:Original newspaper missing poster for Rothganger
590:Meghan Lane and Greg Dailey (October 11, 2018).
514:"Murder trial to open in death of ex-city girl"
565:. Council Grove Republican. December 11, 1985.
478:"Ex-Binghamton girl's body is found in Kansas"
551:. The Springfield News-Leader. April 1, 1985.
410:. The Springfield News-Leader. March 6, 1981.
378:. The Springfield News-Leader. July 17, 1980.
16:American murderer and suspected serial killer
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579:. Press and Sun-Bulletin. December 13, 1987.
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498:. Press and Sun-Bulletin. April 12, 1985.
304:, Rothganger still hasn't been located.
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623:Charley Project article for Rothganger
549:"Police arrest Wichita murder suspect"
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723:Violence against women in Missouri
663:American people convicted of theft
577:"Priest innocent of girl's murder"
263:William Mayhugh and Frieda Bayliff
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613:Court Appeal for the Lewis murder
532:"Shootings deaths may be related"
512:Kaye Schultz (December 6, 1987).
426:Kaye Schultz (December 6, 1987).
324:RaVae Edwards (January 6, 2016).
292:, near the border with Missouri.
362:Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune
358:"Girl's body found in farm pond"
648:20th-century American criminals
476:George Basler (March 4, 1985).
283:Arrest, trials and imprisonment
653:American murderers of children
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376:"Man charged in girl's death"
179:Lansing Correctional Facility
147:Lansing Correctional Facility
708:People from Nevada, Missouri
496:"Death laid to asphyxiation"
408:"Man convicted in drowning"
390:"Escape try ends in arrest"
36:1957 (age 66–67)
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563:"Life Sentence For Murder"
340:"Tonya Lea Lewis obituary"
163:Martin Dean "Marty" Priest
628:Serial Dispatches article
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482:Press & Sun-Bulletin
678:Criminals from Missouri
344:Springfield News-Leader
518:Press and Sun-Bulletin
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394:The Manhattan Mercury
253:Binghamton, New York
100:Span of crimes
396:. August 17, 1980.
251:. Originally from
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231:Suspected murders
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328:. LakeExpo.
194:Tonya Lewis
637:Categories
308:References
290:Fort Scott
274:Christmas
104:1980–1985
171:Missouri
123:Missouri
118:State(s)
683:Forgers
189:Murders
109:Country
91:Victims
86:Details
51:"Marty"
461:May 1,
200:Nevada
175:Kansas
127:Kansas
68:Murder
42:, U.S.
225:Eldon
596:KRCG
463:2020
173:and
29:Born
181:in
94:2–5
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