Nikole Babb
nbabb@cherryroad.com
This week at the Butler County Courthouse, district prosecutors filed a motion to charge two juveniles as adults after they were arrested for murdering a 93-year-old woman in Augusta last September.
Joanne Johnson’s son, Tim found Joanne dead inside her home on September 3, 2023 after what an autopsy determined was death by beating. The mystery of who took her life lingered until the Augusta Police Department, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation were able to make the arrests nearly a year later on August 15, 2024. Two 14-year-old girls were arrested, and charges were filed for first-degree murder.
The two juveniles, who are being held in separate juvenile detention centers in Girard and Hutchinson, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in August.
Tim had said expressed to the Times-Gazette that his intention is to ensure the juveniles are prosecuted to the fullest extent as adults if possible. That decision will be made next month after the defense and district prosecutors present their arguments in a closed-door hearing on January 16.
Tim chose not to make any further public comments since the case was now before a judge.
“It is not appropriate for us to comment as we are well past the offense and now at the prosecution stage before the court, and we are effectively bystanders,” said Tim. “ The County Attorney’s office has helped us understand this very deliberate process, and we believe they are pursuing justice commensurate with my mom’s brutal murder.”
According to Kansas Statute 38-2347:
“Prosecution as an adult; extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution; burden of proof; authorization. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, at any time after commencement of proceedings under this code against a juvenile and prior to the beginning of an evidentiary hearing at which the court may enter a sentence as provided in K.S.A. 38-2356, and amendments thereto, the county or district attorney or the county or district attorney’s designee may file a motion requesting that the court authorize prosecution of the juvenile as an adult under the applicable criminal statute. The juvenile shall be presumed to be a juvenile, and the presumption must be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence. No juvenile less than 14 years of age shall be prosecuted as an adult.”
The statute goes on to list what the court will take into consideration when reviewing the motion and arguments in D 1-8 that includes:
“(1) The seriousness of the alleged offense and whether the protection of the community requires prosecution as an adult or designating the proceeding as an extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution;
(2) whether the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated or willful manner;
(3) whether the offense was against a person or against property. Greater weight shall be given to offenses against persons, especially if personal injury resulted;
(4) the number of alleged offenses unadjudicated and pending against the juvenile;
(5) the previous history of the juvenile, including whether the juvenile had been adjudicated a juvenile offender under this code or the Kansas juvenile justice code and, if so, whether the offenses were against persons or property, and any other previous history of antisocial behavior or patterns of physical violence;
(6) the sophistication or maturity of the juvenile as determined by consideration of the juvenile’s home, environment, emotional attitude, pattern of living or desire to be treated as an adult;
(7) whether there are facilities or programs available to the court which are likely to rehabilitate the juvenile prior to the expiration of the court’s jurisdiction under this code; and
(8) whether the interests of the juvenile or of the community would be better served by criminal prosecution or extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution.”
The girls were 13 when they allegedly committed the heinous crime and 14 when they were arrested, and prosecution began. If the court denies the motion and they’re prosecuted and convicted as juveniles, they could only serve time until they reach 22 and a half years of age, a mere eight years.
