Case of Jodi Sanderholm’s murder heading back to Kansas Supreme Court
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The man convicted of murdering Jodi Sanderholm in Cowley County is still fighting his death sentence, but a judge in Cowley County has sided against him.
In 2009, Justin Thurber was sentenced to die for the kidnapping, rape, and killing of the college student near Arkansas City in 2007. Investigators say he had stalked members of her college dance team. Thurber was 23 when the crime happened. Sanderholm was 19.
A lengthy appeals process began. In 2018, the Kansas Supreme Court postponed a decision on whether the state should execute Thurber. The higher court sent the case back to the district court in Cowley County to determine if Thurber was developmentally disabled.
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Thurber’s attorneys claim he is developmentally disabled with an IQ between 70 and 80. Prosecutors argue that he graduated high school, attended college, and held down jobs.
After hearing from both sides, District Judge Nicholas St. Peter ruled against Thurber, who is now 41.
“The defendant has failed to establish that there’s sufficient reason to believe that he has an intellectual disability,” he wrote.
The judge said he found a psychologist’s opinion to be persuasive. Dr. Mitchell Flesher testified that whatever adaptive deficits Thurber may have are more closely related to an anti-social personality disorder or autism.
The judge said the case should be returned to the Kansas Supreme Court for review of the district court’s findings.
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