Kansas
Kansas court upholds death sentence, ruling man wasn’t clear about wanting to remain silent
Kansas’ top court on Friday upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of fatally shooting three adults and a toddler, ruling that he didn’t clearly invoke his right to remain silent before making statements crucial to his conviction.
The state Supreme Court’s lone dissenter in the case of Kyle Trevor Flack argued that the 6-1 majority was requiring a “proper incantation” and forcing suspects wanting to remain silent to apply “arcane philosophies” of law. Even though she called for a new trial for Flack, she called the evidence against him “overwhelming.”
Flack was sentenced to die for the April 2013 deaths of Kaylie Bailey, 21, from the Kansas City area; her 18-month-old daughter, Lana; Andrew Stout, 30, of Ottawa, about 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, and Steven White, 31, also from Ottawa. The adults’ bodies were found on a farm, while the toddler’s body was found in a suitcase in a rural creek.
The state-appointed attorney for Flack’s appeal argued that prosecutors in Franklin County built their case against him on incriminating statements he made during police interviews. Prosecutors argued they also had strong circumstantial evidence against Flack.
The attorney argued that the trial judge should have refused to allow prosecutors to use the statements as evidence. During his interrogation, Flack repeatedly made statements suggesting he wanted to end the questioning, including, “Take me to jail! Take me to jail! Take me to jail!”
But in its unsigned opinion, the court’s majority said his statements could have been interpreted by police in a variety of ways: an insistence he didn’t know about what they were asking, a recognition that he was in a difficult circumstance, an effort to negotiate with officers or an attempt to bolster his credibility. The court also upheld his convictions for capital murder and other crimes.
“Isolated or combined, his statements did not unambiguously and unequivocally assert his right to silence,” the majority wrote.
Dissenting Justice Evelyn Wilson, a former district judge, said the videos of Flack’s interviews — and not just the transcripts — were the best evidence for whether Flack was invoking his right to remain silent. She said the videos showed that Flack wanted to end the police interrogation and return to jail, so clearly that no officer could have misinterpreted them.
In many cases, police, prosecutors and courts have resorted to using a “mastery of speculative mental gymnastics” to justify a conclusion that a suspect is not invoking their right to remain silent, she wrote.
“A ‘right’ to silence which cannot be exercised in practice — even by actual silence — is no right at all,” Wilson wrote.
Flack’s attorney raised numerous other issues, which all of the justices, including Wilson, rejected. When the court heard from attorneys in Flack’s case in January 2022, those arguments focused heavily on whether prosecutors should have been allowed to use his incriminating statements as evidence.
More: Kyle Flack wants Kansas Supreme Court to overturn death sentence over statements made to police
Flack is one of nine men on death row in Kansas, and the last one to be sentenced to lethal injection. The state has not executed anyone since 1965.
Even after Flack’s trial, it wasn’t clear what led to the shootings, which detectives believe happened over separate days. The defense argued that Flack, who was 28 at the time of the crimes and is now 38, suffered from a severe mental illness that caused him to hear voices throughout adulthood.
One of the top prospects in the 2027 boys’ high school basketball recruiting class recently trimmed his list of suitors, and the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves firmly in the mix.
KU is one of eight schools to make the cut for 2027 five-star small forward Demarcus Henry, according to On3 National Basketball Reporter Joe Tipton. His list of eight includes some of the best programs in the country: Kansas, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina, BYU, Arkansas, UConn, and Louisville.
The 6-foot-7 Charlotte, North Carolina, native is one of the best players in the 2027 class. He’s currently ranked as the No. 5 player overall and the No. 1 player at his position, according to the most recent On3.com 2027 player rankings.
As a junior this past year at Compass Prep High School in Chandler, Arizona, Henry averaged 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game as he helped lead his team to a 25-3 record.
He followed that up with an impressive performance at the NBPA Top 100 camp this summer, leading all attendees in scoring (20.0 points per game) and rebounding (9.3 rebounds per game). He was also a member of the 2026 USA Men’s U18 National Team that earned a silver medal at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup earlier this summer in León, Mexico.
When speaking about his game, Henry mentions his versatility and how he’s developed over the past year.
“I’m just very versatile,” Henry told Rivals in a previous interview. “I can play one through four and just help my teammates and hit shots and play defense. I watch a lot of KD (Kevin Durant) and Paul George. How they score it, and how they could shoot off the dribble, shoot off the catch. I’ve gotten tougher and just more aggressive when I transferred AZ Compass and just being able to get downhill, I feel like that’s really developed for me.”
When asked about what he’s looking for in a potential home at the college level, Henry says he wants to be challenged and grow his game for the NBA.
“What I’m looking for in school is someone that just pushes me to be better,” Henry said. “Help me grow into the person I know I can be and someone who will help me reach my potential. I want to play for a coach that will hold me accountable and help me make me uncomfortable and keep growing and keep getting better and just help me reach the NBA, which is my ultimate goal.”
Early Contenders
Right now the early favorite to land Henry may be the basketball program with the least amount of notoriety of the final eight schools – and that is Ohio State.
Henry has a lot of familial ties to the university as his older brother Chris Henry Jr. is a five-star incoming freshman wide receiver for the Buckeyes football team this year, and his older sister Seini Henry is a talented women’s basketball player at Ohio State.
He’s already taken an unofficial visit to the school and has also taken an unofficial visit to BYU. Thus far, they are the only schools to have received a visit.
Follow
The Royals have been linked to shortstop Jacob Lombard out of Gulliver Prep (Fla.) — if he makes it that far — left-hander Gio Rojas out of Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) HS, outfielder Eric Booth Jr. out of Oak Grove (Fla.) HS, UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, among others. Maybe they shake up the board and go with Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS left-hander/outfielder Jacob Grindlinger, who is just 17 years old after reclassifying for this year’s Draft and has legitimate upside as a two-way player. Grindlinger is No. 16 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft prospects list and is rising on boards as Draft day nears.
Prep players usually mean a lot of upside but with more risk, while college players bring a higher floor and more experience — often with a chance to move quickly. Over the full Draft, the Royals are going to value both.
“There’s a good mix of high school and college,” Bridges said. “To tell you the truth, our range is pretty broad. There’s a clear-cut four players, five players in this Draft, and then believe it or not, where we’re picking, you can go a number of different directions. So we have a pretty good balance of what we’re looking at, both high school and college.”
The Kansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 7, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from July 7 drawing
02-31-35-36-63, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from July 7 drawing
Midday: 4-2-9
Evening: 2-7-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning 2 By 2 numbers from July 7 drawing
Red Balls: 07-26, White Balls: 12-18
Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 7 drawing
27-43-48-49-50, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Kansas Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at select Kansas Lottery offices.
By mail, send a winner claim form and your signed lottery ticket to:
Kansas Lottery Headquarters
128 N Kansas Avenue
Topeka, KS 66603-3638
(785) 296-5700
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a claim form, and deliver the form along with your signed lottery ticket to Kansas Lottery headquarters. 128 N Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS 66603-3638, (785) 296-5700. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Kansas Lottery.
When are the Kansas Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3 Midday/Evening: 1:10 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. CT daily.
- 2 By 2: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Super Kansas Cash: 9:10 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Kansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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