GREAT BEND – A Barton County jury Friday convicted a 57-year-old woman on charges of capital murder stemming from the deaths of a couple who were working as vendors at the Barton County fair in July 2018, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Kimberley Stacey Younger, 57, of Aransas Pass, Texas, was convicted in Barton County District Court on charges of capital murder, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, solicitation to commit murder in the first degree and theft.
Younger’s conviction is for her role in connection with the July 2018 deaths of Alfred “Sonny” Carpenter and Pauline Carpenter, both of Wichita. Authorities said the Carpenters were working as vendors at the Barton County Fair when they were killed, driven to Arkansas and buried in a national forest near Van Buren.
Four other individuals have been convicted for their connection to the crimes.
Senior Judge James Fleetwood presided over the trial. Sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m., November 29, 2021, in Barton County District Court. Because the State is not seeking the death penalty in this case, the only authorized sentence is life without parole.
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GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) — A woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the deaths of a Kansas couple who were killed after a carnival worker ordered their deaths as part of a fictitious “carnival mafia” initiation.
Kimberly Younger, of McIntosh, Florida, is facing six charges, including capital murder, in the July 2018 deaths of Alfred and Pauline Carpenter, of Wichita.
Authorities said the Carpenters were working as vendors at the Barton County Fair when they were killed, driven to Arkansas and buried in a national forest near Van Buren.
During Wednesday’s arraignment, prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty against Younger, KWCH reported. She is also charged with first-degree premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder, solicitation to commit first-degree premeditated murder and felony theft.
Police in Arkansas alleged that a Kansas carnival worker posed as a member of a mafia group and ordered fellow workers to kill the couple as part of an initiation. Investigators have said a “carnival mafia” does not exist.
Two other people have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths. Two others pleaded guilty to lesser charges.