TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man has been convicted of participating in the stabbing or strangulation deaths of three others at a Topeka house.
A Shawnee County jury on Wednesday convicted 32-year-old Joseph Lowry of three counts of first-degree murder and several other charges in the killings in March 2017.
Lowry was one of five people charged in the deaths of 19-year-old Matthew Leavitt, 20-year-old Luke Patrick Davis and 38-year-old Nicole Star Fisher.
Prosecutors said Lowry held all three victims to help others kill them. Police said another man, Joseph Aaron Krahn admitted strangling some victims but said Lowry helped him.
Defense attorneys argued Lowry robbed the victims but no evidence showed that he intended to commit murder. They also contended he was too incapacitated by meth to kill anyone.