WICHITA (KSNW) — The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the death sentences of Jonathan and Reginald Carr.
The justices found that the brothers are “not entitled to resentencing.”
The brothers were convicted of a series of crimes that happened in December 2000 and left five people dead. That includes the kidnapping, sexual abuse, torture and murder of four people on Dec. 14: Aaron Sander, Brad Heyka, Heather Muller and Jason Befort. Another woman survived that attack and was a key witness in the Carrs’ trials. Another woman, Ann Walenta, died in January 2001 after she had been shot on Dec. 11. The weeklong crime spree also included the carjacking of another man on Dec. 7, which Reginald Carr was convicted of.
(Larry, father of Brad Heyka, and his wife Mary Jo Heyka, were residents of Council Grove Lake before returning to Manhattan where Larry became president of what is now Landmark National Bank. Larry passed away this past March in Soddy Daisy, TN.)
In January, the Carrs’ legal teams argued before the Kansas Supreme Court that they deserved a new sentencing hearing. Their case is based on a 2014 decision from the high court that found that the multiple counts of capital murder must be merged into one count.
The Carrs were initially charged with eight counts of capital murder with two alternative theories, four relating to sex crimes and the other four relating to multiple murders. The Supreme Court ruled that Count 2 would stand and overturned the others.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, the judge imposed four death sentences for Counts 1, 3, 5 and 7. The Carrs’ lawyers argue that because of this, and because all capital murder convictions but Count 2 were overturned, the Carrs were never actually sentenced for Count 2 and must be resentenced.
But the Supreme Court said that argument “fails to withstand scrutiny.”
The justices, quoting their 2014 ruling, said they chose Count 2 as the capital murder count to uphold only “for procedure’s sake.” They said they emphasized at the time that they were affirming the capital murder conviction for all four victims.
Plus, the court ruled that because Count 2 was an alternative to Count 1, and the jury found the defendants guilty of both, they were merged into a single count for sentencing. So when the court pronounced sentence on Count 1, the finding also applied to Count 2.
“The merger doctrine clarifies that there is no meaningful distinction between Count 1 and Count 2,” the court wrote in its decision. “Both had merged into a single capital-murder conviction for sentencing purposes. And any sentence pronounced on Count 1 also controlled the count merged into it — Count 2.”
A press release from the office of Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said, “The Kansas Supreme Court today agreed with the State’s argument made in January of 2026 that Judge Clark was clear when he imposed the death penalty.”
Bennett said the Carr brothers have now exhausted their direct appeals, but there are two steps left left in the appeals process.
1.The “collateral” attack. These are typically claims of ineffective counsel that are heard by the district court, the DA’s Office said. They are also called 1507 claims, referencing the statute number.
These decisions can be appealed to the Kansas appellate courts, and then to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court.
2. Habeas corpus. These also are appealed first to state courts, then federal.
The DA’s Office said the Carrs can begin the collateral attacks once the case is returned to district court.
Kansas sheriff opposes clemency for man convicted of killing fellow sheriff Unrelated to their death penalty appeal, the Carr brothers also applied for executive clemency from the governor’s office, along with nearly every person sentenced to death in Kansas. Gov. Laura Kelly has already denied one request: convicted serial killer John Robinson’s.
The Carrs’ requests are still with the Kansas Prisoner Review Board, and there is no clear timeline for when they could reach the governor’s desk.