Kylr Yust takes stand: denies killing ex-girlfriends, accuses late brother in deaths

Update: Kylr Yust murder trial comes to close after more than a week of testimony

Kylr Yust, who is accused of murdering two of his previous girlfriends, testified Wednesday that he did not kill them and said he believed his deceased half-brother was involved.

Yust, 32, took the stand during his trial in Cass County, where he faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Kara Kopetsky and 21-year-old Jessica Runions. Yust denied allegations that he confessed to several people.

“I don’t know what exactly happened to Kara,” he testified, later adding: “I didn’t do anything to either of them.”

Kopetsky was reported missing in 2007; Runions was last seen alive in 2016. Their disappearances remained mysteries in the Kansas City area until a mushroom hunter found their remains on April 3, 2017, in a wooded area south of Belton. Yust was charged in their deaths six months later.

Between 2010 and 2012, police spoke to at least four people who said Yust confessed to killing Kopetsky, according to charging documents. Earlier this week, he could be heard on a tape played for the jury saying he killed her.

Yust’s attorneys say their client is innocent.

Taking the stand Wednesday afternoon, Yust testified that on May 4, 2007 — the day Kopetsky disappeared — he went to his grandfather’s house and then to band practice. He said he believed that earlier in the day, his half-brother, Jessep Carter, was going to take Kopetsky to a skate park.

Yust later learned people were searching for Kopetsky, he testified. Her aunt and uncle showed up at his apartment and asked if she was there; he said she was not. He let them into his apartment to look around, Yust testified.

Years later, in 2018, Carter died by suicide while he was being held in the Jackson County jail on a charge of second-degree arson. Yust testified Wednesday that he believed Carter, 32, died by suicide because Yust pleaded not guilty in Kopetsky’s and Runions’ deaths.

On cross examination, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Julie Tolle accused Yust of trying to create an alibi on the day of Kopetsky’s disappearance and said he knew “exactly where” Kopetsky was because he had strangled her to death. Yust denied the accusations.

Tolle also said that Wednesday was the first time Yust accused Carter in the killings. Yust said he told one of his attorneys, Molly Hastings, about it years ago. Hastings believed him, which is why she is defending him for free, he testified.

Exchanges between Tolle and Yust became heated. At one point, Yust accused Tolle of “making things up” to “get a conviction.”

Tolle told Yust he must be the “most unlucky guy in the world” because two of his former girlfriends had gone missing.

“Anyone who has a brother who is a serial killer is unlucky,” Yust responded.

Prosecutors have said Yust is the one on trial, not Carter. During closing arguments Wednesday afternoon, Tolle told the jury that Yust has previously said he knew Carter had nothing to do with the homicides.

At another point, Yust testified, he thought about pleading guilty because he was already being blamed in the deaths and figured he might as well be “famous for something.” He described his life as “a nightmare.”

Yust testified that, before the trial, he reached out to a radio reporter who had done stories about wrongful convictions, but the reporter instead made fun of him on the air.

He also denied allegations made throughout the trial by people who were once close to him.

Candice St. Clair, who previously lived with and dated Yust, had testified that he choked her in 2011 to the point she lost consciousness. On the stand, Yust denied choking or punching St. Clair, but he pleaded guilty to a municipal charge in the case because he “restrained” her after she hit him, he said.

Another one of his former friends, Aaron Capanetto, had testified that in 2013, Yust came to his house intoxicated and confessed to killing Kopetsky, though he did not provide details. Yust testified Wednesday that during that incident, he ranted about a host of things, including how the “gossip mill” — which produced rumors that he killed Kopetsky — had ruined his life.

Earlier in the trial, which began on April 5, jurors heard wiretapped conversations recorded by Yust’s ex-girlfriend, Katelynn Farris, at the request of the FBI. At one point, Yust allegedly told Farris that he had “f------ killed her,” in reference to Kopetsky.

Yust testified Wednesday that Farris made it seem she was attracted to him because he was suspected of murder. He said he was playing into what he believed was her sexual fantasy when he made the comments. He claimed he was acting.

Yust’s defense team has raised questions about the integrity of the investigation and said police failed to fully investigate an alternative suspect. No physical evidence connected him to the murders, his lawyers said.

Before Yust testified, his defense team called additional experts who testified about issues with the investigations.

One of those witnesses was Jon Thomas, who testified as an arson investigator. Thomas said he found several problems with how local investigators processed Runions’ vehicle, which prosecutors say was set ablaze by Yust after she was reported missing. Those issues, Thomas testified, included a lack of documentation from the fire scene and the way evidence was collected.

Closing arguments began Wednesday afternoon.