Man found guilty of rape, murder in 100-year-old woman’s death
By Amy Renee Leiker
The Wichita Eagle
A Wichita man has been found guilty of raping and murdering a 100-year-old woman after he broke into her home in September 2014.
The trial of Kasey Nesbitt, which was slated to last two weeks, reached a quick conclusion Thursday after jurors delivered a guilty verdict following about two hours of deliberations. The trial begin Tuesday.
Nesbitt is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 18 before Sedgwick County District Court Judge Ben Burgess, who presided over the trial.
In addition to the rape and first-degree felony murder of Martha Schell, jurors also convicted Nesbitt of aggravated burglary with the intent to commit a sexual assault for kicking in the door and going inside of her home in the 800 block of South Crestway on Sept. 30, 2014.
“We’re very pleased with the jury’s work and very pleased for the victim’s family that they can start to put this behind them,” Marc Bennett, district attorney of Sedgwick County, said after the verdict was read in court.
“They were immensely pleased at the verdict today.”
Nesbitt’s defense attorney, Val Wachtel, would not comment on the jury’s decision.
The case hinged on a DNA profile built from sperm cells collected from Schell after the assault. Neither authorities nor Schell knew the identity of her attacker until the DNA profile was entered into a local database. It matched a profile taken from Nesbitt in 2002.
The two profiles matched with a probability of 1 in 3.34 quintillion, Bennett told jurors during closing arguments Thursday – close enough to convict Nesbitt of the sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Without it (DNA) we’d have never solved the case,” Bennett said after the verdict. “Wichita is very lucky to have a crime lab … where we can have top-notch DNA experts.”
Wachtel, in court, pointed out to jurors that no one saw Nesbitt enter or leave Schell’s home the night of the attack. He called the DNA evidence presented “more confusing that enlightening.”
“You cannot let sympathy be your guide in this case because it’s unfair and that’s not allowed in this country,” he said.
Schell had been enjoying “a quiet life,” living independently in her home and interacting mostly with family until the night of the attack, Bennett said in court.
She moved about with the help of a walker and was in no pain. The day prior, her daughter-in-law had brought her breakfast and lunch.
But the rape left her with a broken vertebrae, wrist injuries and damage to her groin area, according to doctors, Bennett told jurors.
Confused, she sought help from neighbors the next morning. Nesbitt was arrested and jailed about a week later.
“The next day and the rest of her life was consumed by pain,” Bennett said. The sequence of events set Schell “on the path to her ultimate death,” he added.
Schell died when blood clots traveled to her lungs on Oct. 21, 2014 – three weeks after the assault. The coroner ruled her death a homicide after determining the clots were a result of the attack.
“She didn’t die of old age. She didn’t die of heart disease. She died of clots that were the direct result of his actions,” Bennett told jurors.
“Did her life end the night of the rape? No. But did the sequence of events that led to her ultimate death begin in that moment? Absolutely.”
Prosecutors originally charged Nesbitt with rape and aggravated burglary but tacked on the felony murder count after Schell’s autopsy report was released.
He faces life in prison for felony murder; up to 54 years, 5 months in prison for the rape; and up to 34 months for the aggravated burglary. The judge will decide whether Nesbitt will serve the terms concurrently or back to back when he is sentenced.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/cri...e91157157.html
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