HILLSBORO, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri change-of-venue hearing on murder charges linked to a double slaying has been postponed for the suspect already serving life sentences for six killings in Illinois.

Thirty-six-year-old Nicholas Sheley (SHEE’-lee) was to have had a hearing Friday in Jefferson County, where he argues he can’t get a fair trial on charges related to the deaths of an Arkansas couple during an alleged two-state killing spree seven years ago. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

But the hearing was pushed back Thursday until Jan. 8.

Sheley was extradited to Missouri in February from Illinois. Four of the people he was convicted of killing were bludgeoned with a hammer and ranged in age from 2 years to 29. The other two victims were 65 and 93.

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) — An Excelsior Springs teenager has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a former classmate in North Kansas City last month.

The Kansas City Star reports that a Clay County grand jury indicted Tristian A. Wilton on Tuesday. He’s charged with second-degree murder and attempted robbery in the death of 18-year-old Tyler Eddington of Kansas City.

Eddington was found shot in a McDonald’s restaurant parking lot Oct. 14. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The second-degree felony murder charge covers defendants who may not have pulled a trigger but were involved in a crime that resulted in a homicide.

Wilton is being held at Clay County jail with a bond set at $1 million.

Wilton and Eddington graduated from Excelsior Springs High School this year.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed a community development official with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

Nixon said in a news release Friday that Yvonne Sparks will fill a vacant seat on the board, which oversees the university’s four campuses. Her appointment must be confirmed by the Missouri Senate.

The system’s flagship Columbia campus has been facing racial strife for the past few weeks, which led the resignations of President Tim Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.

Sparks is the reserve bank’s assistant vice president and community development officer and serves on numerous boards in the St. Louis area.

She would represent the First Congressional District. Her term would end Jan. 1, 2021.

BOLIVAR, Mo. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union has dropped its lawsuit against a southwest Missouri community after it repealed an ordinance restricting panhandling. The ACLU announced the move on Thursday, saying it was voluntarily dismissed as part of a settlement with the city of Bolivar.

The ordinance outlawed aggressive panhandling, such as people walking into traffic and knocking on car windows.

It also restricted nonverbal or passive panhandling, which local resident Rick Hill argued was a violation of his constitutional rights.

Hill wore a sign around town that said “I NEED MONEY” after the Bolivar Board of Alderman approved the ordinance in March.

After the board voted last month for repeal, Hill said he was not opposed to the part that banned aggressive panhandling in the town 30 miles north of Springfield.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — A Dawes County jailer has been accused of having sex with an inmate and providing inmates with a cellphone.

Court records say 31-year-old Sherry Whitinger is charged with sexual abuse of an inmate and with providing escape implements. Sheriff Karl Dailey said Thursday that Whitinger has been fired and is in custody. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

Dailey says a review of an attempted escape in September by an inmate who isn’t linked to the sex abuse charge uncovered information that led to a Nebraska State Patrol investigation and the charges. A court document says Whitinger denied having anything to do with the escape attempt.

The inmate whom authorities say had a sexual relationship with Whitinger refused to answer the investigator’s questions.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a flagman for a construction crew was during an accident involving four vehicles.

The patrol says 47-year-old John W. Johnson of Marshall died Wednesday when he was struck by a trash truck on Highway 13 north of Warrensburg.

 

Johnson had stopped southbound traffic in a construction zone when the trash truck hit the back of a stopped car, which hit another vehicle. The trash truck came back onto the road and struck Johnson, and then hit another car.

The drivers in three of the vehicles suffered minor to moderate injuries.

The Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal reports the patrol’s major crash investigation unit is reconstructing the wreck and will refer its finding to the county prosecutor.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas woman has pleaded guilty to charges accusing her of embezzling about $471,000 from her employer.

The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri said in a release that Kimberly Joyce Padgett of Osawatomie, Kansas pleaded guilty Thursday to five counts of wire fraud.

The prosecutor’s office says Padgett admitted embezzling about $471,000 from Reliant Financial Services in Kansas City, Missouri. Among her duties at the company were paying bills and preparing paychecks. She’s accused of writing $350,000 in checks to herself and using a company credit card to pay for such things as clothing, jewelry and hotels.

She faces up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, as well as fines.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Three Republicans who support Medicaid expansion have been removed from a Kansas House committee that oversees health care issues.

House Speaker Ray Merrick removed Representative Barbara Bollier of Mission Hills, a retired physician; Representative Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican and committee vice chair with a background in rural health; and Representative Don Hill, an Emporia Republican and a pharmacist.

Merrick said in a statement that Kansas citizens oppose an expansion of the health care program.

The chair of the committee, Representative Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said he had not been informed of the committee changes ahead of the decision.

Bollier says she is saddened that three of the most knowledgeable people on health care issues have been removed.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A memorial has been dedicated in Kansas City to the 114 people killed 34 years ago in one of the nation’s worst structural disasters.

Two-hundred people from around the country turned out Thursday to view the 24-foot sculpture entitled “Sending Loves” The names of those killed in the 1981 skywalks collapse at Kansas City’s former Hyatt Regency Hotel are etched in the memorial.

The collapse occurred during a dance that drew about 1,500 people to the hotel. Shortly after 7 p.m., the fourth-floor skywalk gave way, falling on a second-floor skywalk. Then both dropped about 45 feet into the crowded lobby.

Besides the 114 people killed, more than 200 were injured. The memorial also honors the rescuers who rushed to the scene to cut people out of the twisted metal.