KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas Supreme Court announced Friday that it is reversing a capital murder conviction for a Johnson County case in which a man was accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend in 2018.
The decision comes after the state Supreme Court said it found “multiple instances of prosecutorial error” that deprived the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case, said Friday that it had no comment on the state Supreme Court’s decision.
Now, the case is being sent back to the Johnson County District Court.
In 2022, the defendant, Devonte Wash, was found guilty of capital murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Ashley Harlan and her unborn child. Harlan was found dead inside an Olathe home on Jan. 30, 2018. She was about 20 weeks pregnant.
Wash, who was 26 at the time, was arrested and charged months after Harlan’s death.
A jury trial was held in the spring of 2022 in Johnson County District Court. Wash was found guilty following a three-week trial, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court shared its decision in a written statement. The decision, detailed in a 56-page document, comes after the court heard oral arguments in Wash’s appeal in January.
It highlighted two errors in the case. It said the prosecutor “repeatedly referenced evidence before the jury the Johnson County District Court had excluded.” It also said that during closing statements, the prosecutor “improperly suggested certain disputed facts were undisputed—a prosecutorial tactic the court has consistently condemned.”
“Given the limited and circumstantial nature of the evidence against Wash, the court concluded these errors were not harmless,” the state Supreme Court said in its statement Friday. “It stated the prosecution’s actions filled crucial evidentiary gaps with improper tactics, failing to meet the state’s obligation to ensure a fair trial.”
The case has been remanded to the district court for further proceedings, the state Supreme Court said.
This is a developing story. Stay with FOX4 for the latest updates.
