Topeka teen accused of beating his friend's mother to death will enter plea in court

Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal
·2 min read
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Amadeus Ballou-Meyer, 17, faces charges that include first-degree murder in the death of his friend's mother, Hester Workman, shown here.
Amadeus Ballou-Meyer, 17, faces charges that include first-degree murder in the death of his friend's mother, Hester Workman, shown here.

Amadeus Ballou-Meyer, a 17-year-old Topekan accused of beating his friend's mother to death with a baseball bat last year, has been scheduled to enter a plea in that case.

A plea hearing for Ballou-Meyer was scheduled June 7 and is to take place at 4 p.m. July 22 in Shawnee County District Court, according to court records.

Ballou-Meyer is being tried as an adult on charges linked to the killing of Hester Workman, 46, who suffered severe head trauma. He had been friends with her son, Dillon Jay.

Workman's body was found in April 2021 in the attached garage of her home at 2843 S.W. James, about one-half mile west of S.W. Gage Boulevard.

Ballou-Meyer first became a potential suspect when police saw a home security video taken three or four blocks from the homicide scene shortly after it occurred, Topeka police Detective Luke Jones said last March at Ballou-Meyer's preliminary hearing.

That video showed Ballou-Meyer carrying a ball bat. A disc golfer subsequently found that bat in Shunganunga Creek and turned it over to investigators, Jones said.

Video of Jones questioning Ballou-Meyer about Workman's death was shown at his preliminary hearing. Ballou-Meyer gave conflicting accounts but admitted being present when she suffered a head injury.

More: Teen Amadeus Ballou-Meyer to be prosecuted as adult in beating death of friend's mother

Judge bound over teen on charge of first-degree murder

Shawnee County District Judge Bill Ossmann at that hearing bound Ballou-Meyer over on charges he faces of intentional, premeditated first-degree murder or, in the alternative, first-degree felony committed during an inherently dangerous felony.

Ossmann also bound Ballou-Meyer over for trial on one count each of  aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, theft and interference with a law enforcement officer.

Workman was employed at the time of her death as a legal support staff supervisor for the Kansas Board of Health Arts.

Tim Hrenchir can be reached at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Plea hearing set for Amadeus Ballou-Meyer in death of friend's mother