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UPDATE: Felon charged in 3 Kansas City-area fatal shootings

Isaac Fisher from a September 2018 arrest in Johnson Co.

RAYTOWN, Mo. (AP) — A convicted felon was charged Monday with a total of 18 felonies including murder after a series of shootings that left three people dead and two wounded in the Kansas City area.

The charges filed against Issac Fisher, 35, include three counts of second-degree murder. He is being held on $1 million bond.

The shootings occurred within a little more than an hour of each other Sunday in three locations, according to a statement from Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Police found 34-year-old Angenette Hollins dead around 9:15 a.m. Sunday in a Kansas City house.

Hollins is the only victim whose name has been released.

Jackson County court records show Fisher and Hollins were the parents of a son who died in infancy.
Peters Baker said in a news release that a woman at the home reported her son had shot her daughter-in-law after the two argued.

A short time later, police in the Kansas City suburb of Raytown found a vehicle that had been taken from the home. A witness told police that her fiance’s brother kicked in the door at a second home and took a different vehicle.

Minutes later, Raytown police were called to a third home where another victim, who witnesses said was Fisher’s stepbrother, was fatally shot. A 4-year-old girl at that home was shot and wounded, but survived, and a 1-year-old was not injured.

Kansas City police were called a short time later to a fourth home, where a man who was reportedly Fisher’s cousin according to the prosecutor, was found shot on the porch. Before that man died, he told a witness that a man named “Big” had shot him.

Fisher’s nickname is “Big,” Peters Baker said. Police and the prosecutor did not say how Fisher was captured. Jackson County spokesman Mike Mansur said he didn’t know if Fisher had an attorney.

Fisher was jailed briefly last month in nearby Johnson County, Kansas, after prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his probation in a 2015 case in which he pleaded guilty to battery of a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence. He had been scheduled to appear in that case next week.
Fisher was released from federal prison in February after serving time for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Court records show two handguns were found in a vehicle that he wrecked while fleeing from police.
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KANSAS CITY (AP) — Authorities have arrested a convicted felon in a series of shootings that left three people dead and two wounded in the Kansas City area.

Issac Fisher, 35, was taken into custody Sunday night after a manhunt, police said. Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Mike Mansur said Monday that no charges had been filed yet. Fisher can be held for 24 hours without charges. Mansur said he didn’t know whether Fisher had an attorney.

The victims were shot during little more than an hour in three locations, The Kansas City Star reported. Police discovered 34-year-old Angenette Hollins dead around 9:15 a.m. Sunday in a Kansas City house. Jackson County court records show Fisher and Hollins were the parents of a son who died in infancy.

A little later, police in nearby Raytown found a man dead in a home. A child who is around the age of 4 and an adult also were wounded.

Police then found a man dead on the porch of a Kansas City home. Police haven’t released the identities of any victims besides Hollins.

Kansas City police spokesman Capt. Lionel Colón said police think Fisher was responsible for all three shootings, based on statements from people at the scenes. He described Fisher as “dangerous” during the search, saying authorities needed to end it “as quick as possible.”

Police provided no details about how Fisher was captured and said there would be no press briefing Monday.

Fisher was jailed briefly last month in nearby Johnson County, Kansas, after prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his probation in a 2015 case in which he pleaded guilty to battery of a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence. He had been scheduled to appear in that case next week.

Fisher was released from federal prison in February after serving time for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Court records show two handguns were found in a vehicle that he wrecked while fleeing from police.

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Kobach legacy on voter ID laws at issue in other Kansas race

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Democrat running to replace Kris Kobach as Kansas secretary of state is trying to get voters to repudiate the conservative Republican’s political legacy of tough voter identification laws, which Kobach often touts while campaigning for governor.

Brian McClendon, a former Google and Uber executive, would break with Kobach’s policies if elected secretary of state and move Kansas toward allowing voters to register on election day. Kobach derides that as a recipe for election fraud.

At least a little change is in store. While GOP nominee and state Rep. Scott Schwab is a conservative who backed the voter ID policies Kobach championed, he is promising to be in the spotlight less.

And unlike Kobach, neither is an attorney and both said they’d turn over election fraud cases to local prosecutors or the attorney general. Kobach had fought for the authority to pursue them himself.

Known already as an immigration hardliner, Kobach expanded his national profile in the secretary of state’s office and served as vice chairman of President Trump’s now-disbanded commission on election fraud . Kobach has said repeatedly that he is proud Kansas has some of the nation’s toughest voter ID laws.

But the race to replace high-profile Kobach as the state’s top elections official is relatively quiet and bereft of television ads. In GOP-leaning Kansas, Republicans generally are the front-runners in down-ballot statewide contests, and a Democrat hasn’t won a secretary of state’s race in 70 years.

“They often are simply decided just based on partisanship,” said Patrick Miller, a University of Kansas political scientist. “Every now and then, you find a particular officeholder or a particular situation that makes the political relevance of one of these offices very apparent.”

Schwab, from the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, is better known than most legislators because his 10-year-old son, Caleb, died in August 2016 while riding a giant waterslide at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas. Schwab said his model for the secretary of state’s office is its GOP-run 1950s and 1960s version — efficient but low-key.

“I’m a little tired of the public-eye side of things and the overly visible side of things for me, personally,” he said during an interview.

Kobach has endorsed Schwab, saying, “I would hate to see a Democrat secretary of state attempt to undo the great improvements we have made.”

McClendon has the resources for a competitive race. He started by putting $150,000 into his campaign and raised another $359,000 in cash contributions through late July. Schwab raised less than a third of that through late July and has made two $25,000 loans to his campaign.

McClendon stresses his business and technology background. He’s a native of Lawrence, home to the University of Kansas and the state’s most liberal enclave. He returned there last year to become a research professor and advise startup companies.

To demonstrate that he’s serious about promoting voter registration, he has launched a website to allow people to register to vote online or with their cellphones.

“The secretary of state should be the cheerleader for getting voters registered and getting voters to participate in our elections,” McClendon said during an interview. “The Kobach regime has focused on the wrong things.”

Kobach pushed the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass a law requiring new voters to submit papers documenting their U.S. citizenship when registering, starting in 2013.

Lawmakers in 2015 granted the secretary of state’s office authority — sought by Kobach — to prosecute election fraud. His office has filed 15 criminal cases, most of them involving a voter casting ballots in two states at once.

“Kris Kobach has been a very political, very partisan, very activist secretary of state,” Miller said.

No state had been as aggressive as Kansas in enforcing a proof-of-citizenship requirement until a federal judge struck down the policy in June as an unconstitutional violation of voting rights. The judge found that between 2013 and 2016, one in seven new voter registrations — about 35,000 — were blocked for lack of citizenship documents.

The state has appealed the proof-of-citizenship ruling, which Kobach called “extreme.” McClendon said he would drop the appeal and ask legislators to strike the proof-of-citizenship requirement from Kansas law.

Schwab said opposes having the state drop its appeal because it needs the courts to determine how far the state can go in making sure people who registered are qualified to vote.

“There is definitely a chance for a big change in policy,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, which has battled Kobach in court. “And I think that it’s certainly true that whoever is there is not likely to be as much of a zealot.”

Kan. man accused of criminal threat for parking lot dispute with BB gun

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after a weekend parking lot confrontation.

Sparks -photo Saline Co.

Just after 5:30p.m. Saturday, police were called to the parking lot of Walmart, 2900 S. Ninth in Salina, for report of altercation between James Sparks Jr., 41, of Salina, and several other people, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

Sparks allegedly noticed a woman strike her eight-year-old child and confronted her about it. Another bystander heard the confrontation and allegedly heard Sparks threaten to beat up the woman and others with her, so he stepped in to attempt to break up the confrontation, according to Forrester.

Sparks then went to his car, pulled out a hand gun, pointed it at the woman, and threatened to kill her, Forrester said.

Sparks allegedly also pointed the gun at a man who was with the woman, Forrester said. The hand gun turned out to be a BB gun, he added.

Sparks faces two counts of aggravated assault, one count of criminal threat, one count of interference with a law enforcement officer, and one count of disorderly conduct, Forrester said.

WATCH: Kavanaugh sworn in at White House ceremony, promises to be ‘team player’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh (all times local):

7:30 p.m.

New Justice Brett Kavanaugh says the Supreme Court “is not a partisan or political institution,” and is promising to “always be a team player on a team of nine.”

The Senate vote approving Kavanaugh’s nomination followed a bitter partisan fight that became a firestorm after sexual misconduct allegations emerged. He emphatically denied the allegations.

Kavanaugh is describing the confirmation process as “contentious and emotional” but says he has “no bitterness.”

Kavanaugh says all four of the clerks who will work for him at the high court are women.

He was sworn in by retired Justice Anthony Kennedy at an entirely ceremonial event Monday at the White House. Kavanaugh officially became a member of the high court Saturday. The other eight justices are all in attendance.

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7:17 p.m.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has been sworn in —again — at an event at the White House, but not before President Donald Trump slammed Kavanaugh’s opponents for a “campaign of personal destruction.”

Trump is apologizing to Kavanaugh and his family for “the terrible suffering you have been forced to endure.”

He says that “under historic scrutiny,” Kavanaugh was “proven innocent.”

The bitter partisan fight over Kavanaugh’s nomination became a firestorm after sexual misconduct allegations emerged involving Kavanaugh. He emphatically denied the allegations.

The other eight justices are all in attendance for Monday’s swearing-in, which is entirely ceremonial. Kavanaugh officially became a member of the high court Saturday. Kavanaugh already has been at the Supreme Court preparing for his first day on the bench Tuesday.

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11:10 a.m.

President Donald Trump says newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was “caught up in a hoax that was set up by the Democrats.”

Trump says allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh were “all made up, it was fabricated and it’s a disgrace.”

Kavanaugh was accused by several women of sexual misconduct, including a California professor who testified under oath that he tried to assault her at a high school party decades ago. Kavanagh adamantly denied the allegations.

Trump had once said he found her testimony credible.

Trump says he thinks many Democrats will vote Republican in next month’s midterm elections because they’re angry about Kavanaugh’s treatment.

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12:35 a.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is leaving the door open to taking up a nomination to the Supreme Court if a seat becomes vacant in the 2020 presidential election season.

The Kentucky Republican made the remark after winning a hard-fought battle to confirm President Donald Trump’s second high-court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

In early 2016, McConnell refused to set hearings for President Barack Obama’s last nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, saying the seat left open by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia should be filled by the winner of that year’s election.

McConnell says an election-year vacancy isn’t filled if the party controlling the Senate is different from the party of the president.

McConnell appeared on “Fox News Sunday” and CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Suit blames Kansas foster agency after 2-year-old killed by dogs

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The mother of a 2-year-old girl who was fatally mauled by dogs at her father’s home is suing Kansas welfare workers.

Piper Dunbar died in Sept. 2016 -photo courtesy Davidson Funeral Home

The lawsuit filed last month says the Kansas Department for Children and Families and foster care contractors put the girl back into the same unsafe Topeka home from which she had been removed. The suit says officials should have known that two vicious pit bulls dogs with a history of attacks also lived there.

The girl — identified in the lawsuit as P.N.D. — was killed in September 2016 when she was “repeatedly attacked” by one or two of the dogs while her father was sleeping.

Spokeswomen for DCF and the contractor said Friday that they can’t comment because of the pending lawsuit.

Tigers Drop from AFCA Top 25; Among Teams Receiving Votes

WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State fell out of the AFCA Top 25 on Monday (Oct. 8) after a 28-24 loss at Emporia State. The 4-2 Tigers the third-highest listed team in the receiving votes section this week with 37 votes.

The Tigers were in the AFCA Top 25 for a little over a year after entering last year on September 11. They remained in the top 25 for 16 consecutive releases of the poll (includes final 2017 poll and 2018 preseason poll).

The MIAA has only two ranked teams remaining in the poll. Pittsburg State fell from No. 8 to No. 18 this week after a loss to Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. Both teams are now 5-1. Northwest Missouri moved up a little bit in the poll to No. 13 this week.

Fort Hays State currently sits in a tie for third place in the MIAA standings with Missouri Western and Nebraska-Kearney. The Tigers look to knock off one of the MIAA frontrunners this week in Hays when Pittsburg State comes to town. The game kicks off at 2 pm on Saturday (Oct. 13) at Lewis Field Stadium.

Below is the AFCA Top 25 Poll for October 8, 2018.

Rank School (1st votes) Record Pts. Prev. Week 6 Next Game
1. Minnesota St. (29) 6-0 819 1 D. Minnesota St.-Moorhead, 42-20 Oct. 13 vs. Minot St. (N.D.)
2. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 6-0 780 2 D. Dixie St. (Utah), 35-14 Oct. 13 vs. No. 3 Ferris St. (Mich.)
3. Ferris St. (Mich.) (4) 6-0 770 3 D. Michigan Tech, 42-24 Oct. 13 at No. 2 Grand Valley St. (Mich.)
4. West Georgia 6-0 708 5 D. North Greenville (S.C.), 31-7 Oct. 13 at No. 10 West Florida
5. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 6-0 665 6 D. No. 19 Harding (Ark.), 7-3 Oct. 13 at Oklahoma Baptist
6. Minnesota-Duluth 6-0 630 7 D. Augustana (S.D.), 28-17 Oct. 13 vs. Southwest Minnesota St.
7. Texas A&M-Commerce 5-1 594 9 D. No. 4 Midwestern St. (Texas), 20-19 Oct. 13 vs. No. 16 Tarleton St. (Texas)
8. Valdosta St. (Ga.) 6-0 584 10 D. Delta St. (Miss.), 59-28 Oct. 13 at Florida Tech
9. Colorado School of Mines 6-0 525 12 D. Western St. Colorado, 44-16 Oct. 13 at Fort Lewis (Colo.)
10. West Florida 5-1 496 11 D. North Alabama, 24-19 Oct. 13 vs. No. 4 West Georgia
11. West Chester (Pa.) 6-0 463 13 D. Bloomsburg (Pa.), 17-14 Oct. 20 at East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
12. Midwestern St. (Texas) 5-1 450 4 Lost to No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce, 20-19 Oct. 13 at Texas A&M-Kingsville
13. Northwest Missouri St. 5-1 448 16 D. No. 8 Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 31-7 Oct. 13 vs. Nebraska-Kearney
14. Colorado St.-Pueblo 5-1 406 15 D. New Mexico Highlands, 48-3 Oct. 13 at Colorado Mesa
15. Southern Arkansas 6-0 356 17 D. Southern Nazarene (Okla.), 21-16 Oct. 13 at Southeastern Oklahoma St.
16. Tarleton St. (Texas) 5-0 319 21 D. Eastern New Mexico, 48-28 Oct. 13 at No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce
17. Notre Dame (Ohio) 6-0 296 20 D. Fairmont St. (W.Va.), 24-21 Oct. 13 vs. Urbana (Ohio)
18. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) 5-1 281 8 Lost to No. 16 Northwest Missouri St., 31-7 Oct. 13 at Fort Hays St. (Kan.)
19. Kutztown (Pa.) 5-0 220 23 D. East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 35-33 Oct. 13 vs. Lock Haven (Pa.)
20. Indianapolis (Ind.) 4-1 215 22 D. Missouri S&T, 24-17 Oct. 13 at Quincy (Ill.)
21. Central Washington 4-2 111 25 D. No. 24 Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 45-31 Oct. 13 vs. Western Oregon
22. Tiffin (Ohio) 6-0 93 NR D. Malone (Ohio), 38-21 Oct. 13 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
23. Indiana (Pa.) 4-2 71 14 Lost to Slippery Rock (Pa.), 30-27 Oct. 13 vs. Clarion (Pa.)
24. Harding (Ark.) 4-2 66 19 Lost to No. 6 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 7-3 Oct. 13 at Southwestern Oklahoma St.
25. LIU-Post (N.Y.) 5-0 64 NR D. Shippensburg (Pa.), 41-39 Oct. 13 vs. St. Anselm (N.H.)

Others Receiving Votes: Ohio Dominican, 57; Davenport (Mich.), 46; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 37; Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), 33; Morehouse (Ga.), 23; Florida Tech, 19; Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 17; Slippery Rock (Pa.), 17; West Texas A&M, 13; Hillsdale (Mich.), 11; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 7; Bemidji St. (Minn.), 5; Colorado Mesa, 5; Virginia Union, 2; Winona St. (Minn.), 2; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 1.

Midwest Fall Classic Cancelled for Women’s Golf

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Sustained rain at Mozingo Lake Golf Course forced the cancellation of the Midwest Fall Classic, scheduled to be the fourth event of the season for the women’s golf team.

The Tigers will wrap up the fall season next week in Muskogee, Okla. for the Central Super Regional Preview, hosted by Northeastern State University at Muskogee Country Club. The 36-hole event will be contested Tuesday and Wednesday, October 16-17.

Flood Warning for Ellis, Rush Counties

900 block Yocemento Rd., Ellis County (Courtesy Bill Ring)

NWS

DODGE CITY – The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a Flood Warning for Rush and Ellis Counties until 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9.

At 3:15 p.m. Monday, Doppler radar indicated 4 to 6 inches of rain have fallen since early Saturday morning. This has caused numerous closed county roads across Ellis and Rush Counties due to ongoing flooding.

Some locations that will experience flooding include, Hays, Ellis, La Crosse, Victoria, Walker, Catherine, Otis Bison, Schoenchen, McCracken, Rush Center, Liebenthal, Timken, Alexander, Emmeram, Yocemento, Munjor, Loretto, Nekoma and Hargrave.

An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain can be expected across Ellis and Rush Counties through Thursday.

Sex offender convicted in Ellis County seeks clemency

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

A man convicted of multiple sex crimes in 2017 in Ellis County has requested clemency from the governor.

Keaton M. Molleker was sentenced to 135 months in prison for attempted rape and aggravated sexual battery of a 20-year-old victim, breach of privacy and sexual exploitation of a child of a 16-year-old victim and abuse of a child of a 4-month-old victim.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Molleker has filed paperwork with the Prison Review Board. However, that paperwork is not open to the public. A public comment period started for the clemency process on Oct. 4.

Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees said Molleker was sentenced after he entered into a plea agreement. Drees said he did not know why Molleker was now asking for clemency.

Drees said he would be sending a letter to the Prison Review Board opposing clemency.

“I oppose his request because clemency is designed for a miscarriage of justice. It is an extraordinary relief to deal with situation in which sentence is not just in the case. This sentence was plea bargained,” Drees said.

He said clemency is not warranted in this case.

Molleker is currently listed as an inmate at the Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Those wishing to send a comment concerning Molleker’s clemency request can send it to the Prison Review Board at Jayhawk Walk 714 S.W. Jackson, Suite 300, Topeka, KS 66603.

See related story: Hays man sentenced to 11 years for sex offenses

Hays USD 489 school board set to vote on vehicle purchases

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The Hays school board will consider final action on vehicle purchases for this school year at its meeting at 6:30 tonight at the Rockwell Administration Center.

The transportation purchasing schedule calls for the replacement of a gas bus, an activity bus, a car and a suburban.

The bid for the gas bus is $87,669. District staff requested a bid that was about $400 over the low bid, because it had the engine the district wanted.

The bid for the activity bus is $143,975, which was the low bid. Both bids were from Kansas Truck.

The district is also considering a purchase of an Impala for $21,194 and a Suburban for $38,952.

The total would be $291,790, which is less than the $304,000 that was budgeted for the purchases.

The board will also hear a report on student fees. District officials have recommended no changes for the workbook, technology or activity fees. However, there will be a five cent per meal increase in the cost of student and adult lunches.

The board will hear a preliminary report on Sept. 20 count day enrollment. Those figures are set to be released later today.

The board also has scheduled an executive session to discuss teacher negotiations.

UPDATE: Kan. man hospitalized after chase, crash in stolen Lexus

GRANT COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an accident during a chase just before 11p.m. Saturday in Grant County and have identified the driver.

Damian Badillo-photo Kearny County

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Grant County Deputy and a Ulysses Police officer were in pursuit of a 2000 Lexus eastbound on Road 11 four miles east of Ulysses.

The driver lost control of the vehicle. The Lexus left the roadway into the north ditch, catapulting into the power line and flipped several times. Power lines were trapped underneath the Lexus after it came to rest in the field north of Road 11.

The KHP reported late Sunday that Damian Badillo, 23, Lakin, was driving the Lexus. They originally reported he was just a passenger in the vehicle.

Badillo was transported to the hospital in Ulysses. The chase started after report of a stolen vehicle in Kearny County, according to the Grant County sheriff’s department.

On Monday, the sheriff’s department had no details on whether he was still in custody,  hospitalized or possible charges.

Badillo has a previous conviction for aggravated battery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

 

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GRANT COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an accident during a chase just before 11p.m. Saturday in Grant County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Grant County Deputy and a Ulysses Police officer were in pursuit of a 2000 Lexus eastbound on Road 11 four miles east of Ulysses.

The driver lost control of the vehicle. It left the roadway into the north ditch, catapulting into the power line, flipped several times. Power lines were trapped underneath the Lexus after it came to rest in the field north of Road 11.

A passenger Damian Badillo, 23, Lakin, was transported to the hospital in Ulysses. Authorities were still working to identify the driver early Sunday. The chase started after report of a stolen vehicle in Kearny County, according to the Grant County sheriff’s department.

UPDATE: Sheriff identifies man, woman killed in Kansas shooting

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Authorities are investigating after a man and woman were found shot to death in southern Kansas.

Kristen Florio-Gile –photo GoFundMe

During the initial investigation, detectives discovered 33-year-old Randy Gile shot his wife 33-year-old Kristen Gile and then shot himself.

Just before 5:30 p.m., Saturday, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to assist the Derby Police Department with a shooting near K15 and Patriot, according to Sedgwick County Deputy Tim Myers.  Derby Police Officers found 3 vehicles at approximately 10100 E. 63rd Street South.  Kristen Gile and Randy Gile were found deceased at the scene.  Kristen Gile’s father Richard Floria, 55, received minor injuries during the shooting.

A GoFundMe page established by the family provides more details.

 

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SEDGWICK COUNTY— Authorities are investigating after a man and woman were found shot to death in southern Kansas.

Kristen Florio-Gile -photo GoFundMe

The shooting happened around 5:20 p.m. Saturday in Derby. Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Cpt. Brad Hoch says authorities think the man and woman identified by family as Kristin Florio-Gile were related.

Hoch didn’t say what led to the shooting. A GoFundMe page established by the family provides more details.

The man and Florio-Gile were in separate vehicles before the shooting.

Hoch says the man and woman seem to be the only two people involved and that there are no suspects.

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