Judge set to consider extradition of Emporia man accused of Colorado murders

EMPORIA, Kan. (WIBW) – A Judge in Emporia is set to mull over the extradition case of a man accused of murdering two women across state lines as he is set to be sentenced in a separate case.

KVOE reports that on Tuesday, Dec. 5, a hearing was held in Emporia District Court in which the defense attorney for Phillip Lieurance, Rick Meier, and Assistant County Attorney Carissa Brinker both asked Judge Doug Jones to review an extradition case.

The move comes as Lieurance is set to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on Jan. 19, in an aggravated battery case in which he accepted a plea agreement in late November. In mid-September, Lieurance rammed his SUV into at least one other vehicle along the Kansas Turnpike near Emporia. He pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated battery while driving under the influence and one count of aggravated battery.

As part of the agreement, court documents indicate that charges including aggravated battery and aggravated battery DUI were dropped.

Lieurance also stands accused, but has not formally been charged, of the deaths of two Emporia women in Colorado – Linda Estrada and Amy Ford. Both women were found deceased near Eads, Colo., in late September after they were reported missing.

Extradition paperwork in Lyon Co. has accused Lieurance of murder in the second degree, tampering with a deceased body and illegally leaving the state after the women’s deaths. However, Colorado state law requires defendants to appear before a judge to be officially charged with criminal activity.

Judge Jones has agreed to review the extradition case with a review hearing set for 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 25.

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