WICHITA, Kan. — Three individuals have been charged with capital murder in connection with two senseless deaths in July in Barton County, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. Two other individuals are charged with related crimes.
Schmidt filed criminal charges against Kimberly Younger, 52, McIntosh, Fla.; Michael Fowler, Jr., 54, Sarasota, Fla.; Rusty Frasier, 35, Aransas Pass, Tex.; Christine Tenney, 38, Santa Fe, Tex.; and Thomas Drake, 31, Van Buren, Ark. The charges are in connection with the deaths of Alfred “Sonny” Carpenter and Pauline Carpenter, both of Wichita, at the Barton County Fair in July.
Police say investigators were told that the killings were initiation into a non-existent ‘carnival mafia’ made up by the ringleader.
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported: Kimberly Younger posed as a member of the carnival mafia named Frank Zaitchik and ordered others by text messages to kill [the victims on the fairgrounds.]
Under questioning by detectives, Fowler said he was ordered through text messages from Zaitchik to kill the Carpenters as an initiation into the carnival mafia, according to the reports. Zaitchik also told Fowler and others by text messages to clean the inside of the trailer where Pauline Carpenter had been killed and to dispose of the bodies.
Fowler told detectives that while Younger, who initially was known to the detectives as Myrna Kahn, distracted Alfred Carpenter, Fowler grabbed Carpenter in a headlock and tried to cut his throat. When Carpenter fought back, Fowler said, Frasier stepped in and stabbed Carpenter in the chest.
Fowler then shot Carpenter twice in the head with a 9mm pistol, which police have found, and went into the couple’s camper trailer and shot Pauline Carpenter twice in the head as she slept, according to the report.
The suspects then dumped the bodies in a creek bed and covered the victims with logs and rocks. They were arrested soon after.
Police say the ‘Carnival Mafia’ does not exist.
The most serious charges are as follows:
- Younger is charged with one count of capital murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of criminal solicitation and one count of theft. Bond has been set at $1 million. The Younger complaint is available at https://bit.ly/2Ebm3PQ
- Fowler is charged with one count of capital murder and one count of theft. Bond has been set at $1 million. The Fowler complaint is available at https://bit.ly/2BWAXbg
- Frasier is charged with one count of capital murder. Bond has been set at $1 million. The Frasier complaint is available at https://bit.ly/2RCVzuM
- Tenney is charged with three counts of obstructing apprehension. Bond has been set at $10,000. The Tenney complaint is available at https://bit.ly/2GimrPB
- Drake is charged with three counts of obstructing apprehension. Bond has been set at $10,000. The Drake complaint is available at https://bit.ly/2E5OGOG
