Kylr Yust's attorneys may request more DNA testing in case
Kara Kopetsky, Jessica Runions found dead in Cass County farm field in 2017
Kara Kopetsky, Jessica Runions found dead in Cass County farm field in 2017
Kara Kopetsky, Jessica Runions found dead in Cass County farm field in 2017
Attorneys for accused murderer Kylr Yust have left open the possibility of ordering more DNA testing in the cases of two young women who went missing nearly a decade apart.
Yust is accused of killing Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions. Kopetsky was 17 when she disappeared in 2007. Runions was 21 when she disappeared in 2016. A mushroom hunter found both of their remains in a Cass County farm field in 2017.
The developments could push Yust’s trial deep into 2020, in a case that has faced several delays and detours.
Yust’s trial was already indefinitely delayed earlier this year when his attorneys argued he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. His public defenders continue to argue he needs psychiatric medication, and have asked a judge to order the Cass County jail to provide it to him.
Yust’s attorney Sharon Turlington said Monday that with so much evidence in the case, she could not rule out ordering DNA testing on the bodies of Kopetsky and Runions.
Both women have yet to receive a burial and are currently at the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office, Cass County assistant prosecuting attorney Julie Tolle told Judge William Collins.
Tolle said any potential DNA testing could delay a trial by up to six months.
Families for both Runions and Kopetsky declined to speak to the media.
The next court hearing is set for Dec. 2.