State v. Henson

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Kaul, J.:

Defendant-appellant, Billy J. Henson, appeals from a conviction by a jury of first degree premeditated murder in violation of K. S. A. 21-3401.

On August 23, 1971, Marsha Lynn Smith, a young woman, was found dead on a bed in the bedroom of her Leavenworth apartment. Detective Charles Scharer, of the Leavenworth Police Department, commenced the investigation by examining the scene of the crime. Scharer was an officer with nineteen years’ experience in law enforcement and had participated in the investigation of approximately three hundred…