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Francis Nemechek

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Francis Nemechek
Born
Francis Donald Nemechek

(1950-06-29) June 29, 1950 (age 74)
Trego County, Kansas, U.S.
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment
Details
Victims5
Span of crimes
December 13, 1974 – August 21, 1976
CountryUnited States
State(s)Kansas
Date apprehended
August 24, 1976
Imprisoned atLansing Correctional Facility

Francis Donald Nemechek (born June 29, 1950) is an American serial killer who murdered four women and a young boy in Kansas's Trego and Ellis counties between December 1974 and August 1976. He admitted to committing the murders, along with raping some of his victims, but pled not guilty due to claims of insanity. He was found guilty in 1977 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He has been denied parole four times.[1][2]

Early life

Born on June 29, 1950, Francis Donald Nemechek was the second of three children born to parents George and Nathalie.[3] Little is known about his upbringing, other than he grew up in Trego County and played football in high school.[4] After high school Nemechek enrolled at Goodland Area Vocational-Technical school, where he was described as a top student. Upon completing the school Nemechek applied for a job as a traveling service mechanic, for which he was granted work for.[4] Nemechek later got married, and fathered one son. After some time, the two filed for divorce. He eventually got a new job as a truck driver which his father helped him obtain.[4] Nemechek would continue to live with his parents up until his arrest.[5] Family members would tell the press that mentioning Nemechek's ex-wife would throw him into rage.[4]

Murders

On December 13, 1974, Nemechek was driving his pickup truck along Interstate 70 near Ogallah when he noticed a red Toyota driving along the same road, which held 19-year-old Diane Lovette, her friend 21-year-old Cheryl Young, and Cheryl's 3-year-old son Guy William Young, all of Fort Madison, Iowa.[6] Brandishing his handgun, Nemechek shot out one of the tires of the Toyota, consequently causing the car to spiral onto the side of the road. Nemechek then parked his truck and ran to the front of the women's vehicle and abducted all three at gunpoint.[6] He drove the trio to a farmhouse owned by an acquaintance named Joseph Faulkner in Graham County, where he shot both Lovette and Young to death, and left Guy unharmed.[7] However, due to the snow and freezing temperatures, Guy would succumb from hypothermia.[6] Later that same day, Cheryl Young's vehicle was found abandoned. A month later, two trappers found the body of Guy Young, and responding officers found the bodies of Cheryl Young and Diane Lovette inside the farmhouse.[8] The killings quickly drew a lot of attention, and in the months it sat unsolved, the case was nicknamed the "Lovette-Young case".[9]

On January 1, 1976, Nemechek was driving along Interstate 70 when he shot three bullets at a vehicle with Colorado license plates. The driver of the vehicle, Robert Wright, and his 4 other passengers sustained no injuries and reported the incident.[10] That same month, police arrested Nemechek in connection with the case. He pleaded not guilty, and a trial was due to begin later in September. For the time being, Nemechek was held on $20,000 bond which he posted.[11]

On June 30, 1976, Nemechek abducted 20-year-old University of Kansas student Carla Baker while Baker was taking a bike ride.[12] Having forced her into his truck, he proceeded to drive to a secluded area where he proceeded to rape, beat, stab, and fight with her until she died. He left her body in a wheat field. The next day, Baker's father Dick Baker discovered his daughter's bike. Finding no signs of her, Dick reported Carla missing.[12] Days later, around 100 local volunteers took part in a search to find Carla, in which they scoured local wooded areas for clues, but none were found.[12] Her body was found on September 21.[13] On August 21, Nemechek abducted 16-year-old Ellis High School cheerleader Paula Fabrizius. He drove her to a secluded area near Pawnee Rock, where he raped and stabbed her to death. He then mutilated[14] her body, and it was found the next day by a group of motorcyclists.[15][16]

Arrest and trial

On August 24, Nemechek was arrested at his job for the murder of Fabrizius.[7] He had been arrested due to the fact he was identified as the last person seen with Fabrizus and his fingerprints also linked him to the crime scene.[17] By the time of his arrest, the murders of Fabrizius, Baker, Lovette, Cheryl Young and Guy Young were being investigated as possibly being linked to a serial killer. Nemechek was held at $250,000 bail.[15] While he was being held in jail, a Trego County judge issued a gag order, which was going to investigate Nemechek in the other murders.[15] Police issued a warrant to search through Nemechek's camper, and they uncovered a blood-soaked carpet which he had likely used to clean up blood evidence, and photos he took of the bodies.[17] In October 1976, he was charged with the five murders.[15]

Since the news of Nemechek's arrest became a big news story, multiple rumors started spreading around in the area, among them was that Nemechek likely perpetrated the rape and murder of 23-year-old high school teacher Linda Leebrick in Hill City in April 1976;[4] however, the KBI were able to disprove this claim as another man, Dennis Sanders, had already confessed to the murder.[18] They also stated that there was no evidence to suggest Nemechek committed more murders than the five he was charged with.[4] Nemechek confessed to authorities that he killed all five, but claimed he was not criminally responsible, and he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.[19]

The following year, Nemechek went on trial for the five murders. His lawyers admitted early on that Nemechek had committed the murders but argued that he was unaware of the nature of his crimes. After four hours of deliberating, the jury found Nemechek criminally responsible, imposing a guilty verdict.[20] He was then sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parole after 15 years.

Aftermath

In 1978, Nemechek attempted to appeal his sentence on the grounds of him claiming to be criminally insane, but the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the sentence.[19] Nemechek became eligible for parole in 1991. He filed a parole application in early July, but after a meeting with the parole board, his request was denied. Due to this, Nemechek would have to wait at least three more years for another parole opportunity.[21] In 1997, he applied for parole but was again denied. Another parole attempt was made in 2007, but with a community petition having almost 15,000 signatures opposing his release, Nemechek was again denied parole.[22] In 2012, Nemechek was featured in the book "Beyond Cold Blood: The KBI from Ma Barker to BTK" as among one of Kansas' most infamous criminals along with Dennis Rader, Ma Barker, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Clutter family murders.[23][24] In 2017, Nemechek became eligible for parole.[1] He was denied.[2] Nemechek earliest possible parole date is set for July 26, 2027.[25] If it is granted, Nemechek would be 77 years old.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kan Hays (April 21, 2017). "Man convicted of killing Fort Madison woman, four others up for parole". The Hawk Eye. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Andy Hoffman (August 4, 2017). "Murderer again denied parole". The Hawk Eye. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  3. ^ "Nemechek: Relatives talk about the alleged killer". The Salina Journal. October 3, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Nemechek: Relatives talk about the alleged killer". The Salina Journal. October 3, 1976. p. 35. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  5. ^ "Man's Arrest Shocks, Puzzles Small Town". Kansas City Times. August 26, 1976. p. 35. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Jim Suber (January 15, 1975). "Western Kansas killer-rapist left child to die a slow death". The Salina Journal. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Man Linked to Site of Deaths". Associated Press. August 27, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  8. ^ "Iowa Link Checked In Kansas Killing". Associated Press. August 27, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  9. ^ Jim Suber (October 8, 1976). "Nemechek named in four more murders". The Salina Journal. p. 2. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  10. ^ "Sniping Case Is Postponed". Hays Daily News. January 21, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  11. ^ Linda Mowery (October 10, 1976). "Nemechek passive as murder charges read". The Salina Journal. p. 35. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Fred Johnson (July 4, 1976). "Search Yields No Clues". Hays Daily News. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  13. ^ Jim Suber (September 22, 1976). "Carla Baker's body is found". The Salina Journal. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  14. ^ "KBI Probes Iowa Link In Killings". Associated Press. August 27, 1976. p. 12. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d Jim Cook (October 8, 1976). "Nemechek Charged In More Killings". Hays Daily News. p. 35. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  16. ^ Scott Sierer (August 24, 1976). "Victim's Classmates Stunned". Hays Daily News. p. 1. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Kate Pierson (February 9, 1977). "Motion for Insanity Verdict: Nemechek Move Fails". Kansas City Star. p. 1. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  18. ^ Jim Cook (October 27, 1976). "Splinters matched bloody tree limbs". The Salina Journal. p. 9. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Nemechek Conviction Upheld". Associated Press. April 1, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  20. ^ "Welder guilty of slaughter". United Press International. February 15, 1977. p. 5. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  21. ^ "Man who murdered five people is denied parole". Associated Press. July 21, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  22. ^ "Serial killer denied parole". Associated Press. July 11, 2007. p. 2. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  23. ^ Beccy Tanner (October 25, 2012). "Crime in Kansas, from 'In Cold Blood' to BTK". The Wichita Eagle. p. 1. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  24. ^ Beccy Tanner (October 25, 2012). "Crime in Kansas, from 'In Cold Blood' to BTK". The Wichita Eagle. p. 2. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  25. ^ Kansas Department of Corrections
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