District Attorney Jerome A. Gorman filed charges on Thursday in a Kansas City, Kan., cold-case murder from 1997.
Two persons were charged in the Oct. 22, 1997, death of Vicky Ernst at 950 Shawnee, Kansas City, Kan.
Jason Lanell Rucker, now 34 years old, of Kansas City, Kan., was charged in the Juvenile Division of Wyandotte County District Court with one count of murder in the first degree of Vicky Ernst. Rucker was 17 years old when Ernst was killed.
Torry Mashone Johnson, now 34 years old, who is currently in the Crossroads Correctional Center, Cameron, Mo., was charged in the Juvenile Division of Wyandotte County District Court with one count of murder in the first degree of Vicky Ernst. Johnson was 16 years old when Ernst was killed.
The district attorney also on Thursday filed papers seeking to prosecute both Rucker and Johnson as adults.
According to the district attorney’s office, Ernst’s death was determined to be a homicide. At the time of the original call the crime scene investigation, autopsy, and interviews by police detectives failed to identify the person or persons responsible for Ernst’s death.
While the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department never closed the investigation, there were periods where no new leads meant the investigation was not active.
Over the course of years, various forensic reports of the physical evidence were issued by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation Laboratory, and more recently the district attorney’s staff and detectives from the major case unit at the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department undertook a comprehensive review of this case. Police followed-up on newly developed leads, and the district attorney on Thursday charged two men with Ernst’s murder. Both men are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Rucker is now in the Wyandotte County jail. Bond was set at $1 million.
The next court appearances for both men are not yet scheduled.
Even though charges have been filed, the investigation remains open as additional leads are pursued. Anybody with knowledge is encouraged to contact the major crimes unit of the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department at 913-573-6020.
