Hays Post

WAKEENEY — A man serving five consecutive life sentences for the first-degree murders of five people in northwest Kansas has been denied parole.

According to the office of the Trego County Attorney, Francis Donald Nemechek was denied parole after a hearing in July in front of the parole board.

He will not be eligible for parole for another 10 years in 2027.

Nemechek was sentenced in March 1977 for the crimes, which included three separate incidents.

According to court documents, Sheryl Lynn Young, 21, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Diane Lynn Lovette, 19, Fort Madison, Iowa; and Guy William Young, 3, Colorado Springs, were picked up by defendant on Interstate 70 near Ogallah on Dec. 13, 1974, after experiencing car trouble. The two women were taken to an abandoned farmhouse in Graham County where the two women were shotgunned to death and Guy, a 3-year-old boy, was left to freeze. The bodies were found on Jan. 13, 1975.

Carla Baker, a college student, was abducted on the evening of June 30, 1976, as she rode her bicycle near the west edge of Hays. Her remains were recovered Sept. 21, 1976, in a deserted area at Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Trego County after Nemechek told police where to look for her body.

Paula Fabrizius, 16, WaKeeney, worked as a park ranger at Cedar Bluff State Park during the summer months. On Aug. 21, 1976, she was abducted from her duty post. After an extensive search, her body was found the next day near Castle Rock in Gove County.

Nemechek was arrested on Aug. 24, 1976. He is now 67 years old and has been an inmate of Lansing Correctional Facility since his sentencing, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

“The state introduced extensive evidence connecting defendant to the crimes, with the most damning evidence being defendant’s confession to the five crimes,” court documents stated.

Prior to the July parole hearing there were be three opportunities for friends and families of victims to appear in person and testify.