Testimony: Child's body found in suitcase in creek
OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) — A woman whose decomposing body was found under a pile of clothing next to the body of her boyfriend at a Kansas farm had been bound at the wrists and was partially clothed, crime scene specialists testified Tuesday.
Kyle Trevor Flack, 28, is charged with capital murder, first-degree murder and attempted rape. The investigators testified at preliminary hearing for Franklin County Judge Thomas H. Sachse to determine if there was enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Flack is accused of killing Andrew Stout, Steven White and Kaylie Bailey, who were found last spring at Stout's farm in Ottawa, about 50 miles southwest of Kansas City. Investigators found the body of Bailey's 18-month-old daughter Lana Leigh Bailey, a few days later in neighboring Osage County.
Ryan Rezzelle of the Johnson County Sheriff's crime lab said Kaylie Bailey's wrists were tied behind her back with black zip ties, and she was naked from the waist down.
"It appeared to be she had suffered a gunshot wound to the head," he said.
Stout's body was found alongside Bailey's on the floor of his bedroom under piles of clothing and towels, one of which was bloody. His body was more decomposed, Rezzelle said.
Rezzelle also said about half a dozen spent .22 gauge shotgun shells were found throughout the house.
White's body, found under a blue tarp in the garage at the property, was also decomposed and showed signs of maggots and mold, the investigator said.
In response to questions from Flack's defense team, Rezzelle said there was no evidence of other similar boxed ammunition in the house.
Andrea Reed with the Johnson County Sheriff's department also testified that investigators searching a creek in Osage County found diapers and papers with the Baileys' names on them before finding a suitcase that contained a child's body. Reed didn't identify the body.
Franklin County Sheriff's Detective Jeremi Thompson also testified that Flack told investigators during questioning on May 9, 2013, before he was formally charged, that Stout argued with White over rent and followed him to the garage carrying a shotgun. Flack told authorities that Stout fired on White, hitting him in the chest, and then handed the gun to Flack.
"I shot him, he dies," the investigator said Flack told him.
Thompson said Flack then said he and Stout put a tarp over White's body and placed cinder blocks on the tarp before they went back in the house to smoke marijuana.
Defense attorney Ron Evans argued that Flack's comments shouldn't be admitted because they came after he had asked Thompson if he needed a lawyer. The judge ruled that the comments were properly acquired and could be used.
Authorities say Flack was friends with 30-year-old Stout, and that White, 31, was Stout's roommate. They have said 21-year-old Bailey was Stout's girlfriend.
Flack, dressed in an orange striped jumpsuit and shackled at the wrists and ankles, sat mostly quietly with his defense team.
Relatives of Flack's, including his mother, Tammy McCoy, sat behind him in the courtroom, which was also nearly filled with friends and relatives of the victims. McCoy said she doesn't believe her son committed the killings, and that "if he's involved, he didn't do it alone."
"Kyle knows what happened and he's covering for someone," McCoy said. "Loyalty means everything to him."
