First-degree murder charges remain intact for Joshua Knapp, Rhonda Jackson and James Myers, for the 2016 killing of Iolan Shawn Cook
At the conclusion of a two-day preliminary hearing Wednesday, Allen County Magistrate Judge Tod Davis agreed with prosecutors, that evidence was sufficient to bound all three over for trial.
While the preliminary hearing was consolidated for all three, it’s apparent at least one will be tried on his own.
Knapp, through his attorney John Boyd, indicated his preference for a jury trial. Allen County District Judge Creitz scheduled Knapp’s arraignment — during which he will enter a plea — at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 2.
Meanwhile, both Jackson and Myers waived their right to a jury trial, instead opting for a bench trial, where a verdict will be handed down by Creitz. Each waived formal arraignment and entered not guilty pleas.
Creitz scheduled the trial (or trials) to run Nov. 27 through Dec. 6. He also scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 19 to consider Allen County Attorney Jerry Hathaway’s motion to try both Knapp and Jackson simultaneously.
Additionally, Assistant County Attorney Jacqie Spradling said additional felony obstruction of justice charges would be filed against Knapp and Myers: two against Knapp, four against Myers. She accused both of destroying evidence related to the killing by washing out the back of Myers’ pickup and burning evidence after the murder. She said Myers also destroyed Cook’s cell phone and removed a bed liner from the back of his pickup.
Prosecutors have alleged Knapp and Amber Boeken used Myers’ truck to take Cook to a secluded Allen County road, where his throat was cut. They then transferred the injured-but-still-alive Cook to a second pickup, owned by Brent Cagle, to be taken to a Neosho River bank northwest of Iola, where Knapp allegedly stabbed Cook repeatedly in the throat, killing him.
AFTER Tuesday’s testimony focused primarily on the night of Cook’s March 13, 2016, slaying — much of it coming from Boeken — Wednesday’s witnesses spoke extensively about the subsequent investigations.
Detectives Jared Froggatte and Doug Campbell and Kansas Bureau of Investigation Agent Steve Rosebrough took to the witness stand to talk about their work in helping unravel the mystery surrounding Cook’s death.
Froggatte recounted interviewing Jackson about her involvement with Cook prior to the killing.
Froggatte said Jackson admitted giving Cook 100 Dilaudid pills in the days prior to his death, with the assumption he would sell the painkillers for $20 apiece.
However, Jackson told investigators Cook never returned with the drugs or money, Froggatte said. “She was upset about that.”
Froggatte also said he interrogated Casey Bryant, who told him that Knapp had called him sometime in the night after Cook was killed, saying “I hurt him; I hurt him bad!”
(Bryant took the stand later Wednesday, but his testimony was cut short after he admitted to Hathaway he remembered little about the phone call from Knapp. “I’ve done a lot of drugs since then,” Bryant testified.)
Campbell, meanwhile, talked about a pair of interviews he conducted with Jackson, about threatening text messages Jackson allegedly sent to Cook after he failed to show up with the money and/or the Dilaudid pills.
“Yeah, you broke the rules, sorry, but it’s done and over. Bye,” one message read.
“You with f—–g regret this, you sorry punk b—h,” read another.
Campbell attributed both to Jackson.
Under cross examination from Robert Myers, attorney for Jackson, Campbell noted none of the text messages from Jackson specifically said she was going to kill Cook, nor were there any in which Jackson directed Boeken to harm Cook on her behalf.
Likewise, Boyd asked Campbell if he had seen any evidence had been found tying Knapp to the crime. Campbell said he had not.
Rosebrough talked about interviewing Myers, relaying conversations in which Myers admitted going with Knapp to the car wash shortly after Cook’s death to wash out his pickup bed.
Myers even returned to the car wash a second time, Rosebrough said, because he claimed Knapp did a poor job of getting rid of all the blood.
Myers also led officers to a burn pile, where traces of a fiberglass resin used as an accelerant were found, Rosebrough testified.
Under cross examination, Rosebrough admitted that there were several discrepancies in the information Myers had given officers.
Rosebrough also talked about interrogating Cagle, who he said was belligerent at first, but later agreed to direct officers, more than two weeks after Cook was reported missing, to the spot in the Neosho where he apparently had been taken. Cook’s body was found about a quarter-mile from that spot, Rosebrough said.
JESSICA EPTING, who originally was charged with first-degree murder along with Knapp, Boeken, Jackson and Myers, testified for the prosecution. Epting reached a plea agreement in January, agreeing to testify after her charge was amended to misdemeanor obstruction of justice.
She testified about a conversation with Knapp after Cook’s death, in which Knapp said the killing was “a rush” and compared it to cutting pigskin.
However, upon Boyd’s cross examination, Epting could not recount the circumstances leading up to the conversation, which she earlier said occurred during a walk along Spruce Street in Iola.
When pressed by Boyd, she admitted not seeing Knapp after he stormed off prior to Cook’s killing, until their paths crossed several days later at another acquaintance’s house — one day before Knapp was arrested in Linn County.
Boyd’s testy exchange with Epting culminated with Boyd accusing Epting of lying to earn a better plea deal with prosecutors, and lying out of spite against Knapp. (Epting testified she’d had a sexual relationship with Knapp, but that relationship ended shortly before Cook’s death.)
Boyd’s accusation was stricken from the record, after Hathaway objected, calling Boyd’s comments “argumentative.”
A final witness for the prosecution, Delores Silcox, saw her appearance cut short — like Bryant before her — after she, too, admitted she could remember little about her testimony to officers, even after reading an officer’s report recapping their interview nearly 15 months ago. She’d been expected to speak about Myers’ role in the killing.
THE HEARING concluded with closing arguments from Spradling, who rattled off the reasons why Jackson and Myers were charged with first-degree murder, even though they weren’t at the scene where Cook was killed.
Spradling said Jackson provided the motive for Cook’s killing because of the failed drug deal; she knew Cook was in mortal danger after conversations with Boeken the night of his death, as evidenced by Jackson’s and Boeken’s conversations that night; she allowed Boeken and Knapp to get plastic from her house to transport the bloody Cook to the river, while he was still alive; she gave directions to Neosho Falls for Cook’s body to be dumped; and she aided Cook and Knapp afterward by giving them clean clothes to wear, and giving them a plastic bag to store their bloody clothes.
Spradling said Myers was culpable because he loaned his truck to Knapp and Boeken while Cook was still alive but badly injured; he provided a blue tarp prior to Cook’s death; he told an acquaintance, Maisy Hale, that they were “in on it;” he also allowed Knapp access to his garage to get more plastic, rope and duct tape; he and Knapp took Myers’ truck to a car wash to clean out the blood after the killing; he directed Knapp and Boeken to a burn site to destroy evidence, and provided the accelerant to help the fire burn faster; he later removed his truck bed liner and hid it at an acquaintance’s property; and he later destroyed Cook’s cell phone.
ROBERT MYERS, Jackson’s attorney, and Brian Duncan, who represents James Myers, both said their clients were improperly accused of first-degree murder.
Mere association with the principles was not sufficient evidence to establish guilt or probable cause, Robert Myers said, a comment echoed by Duncan.
Robert Myers also argued Brent Cagle, who admitted driving the truck with an injured Cook in the back to the Neosho, was more complicit in Cook’s killing than was Jackson, but was not charged with anything.
The prosecutors, Robert Myers said, “are speaking out of both sides of their mouth.”
Boyd declined to offer a closing statement.
TUESDAY’S key witness, Boeken, testified as part of a plea deal, resulting in reduced charges. She pleaded guilty in February to a count of second-degree murder. Her sentencing is pending.
Three to face murder charges in Cook’s death
