Judge convicts Kansas man of killing 6 women
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - March 27, 2008 Terry Blair, 46, was found guilty of six counts of first-degree
murder in the 2004 slayings. He had agreed to be tried before a
judge instead of jury in return for prosecutors agreeing not to
pursue the death penalty.
Prosecutors described Blair as calculating and determined to
kill as many prostitutes as he could. Two of the women had been
strangled, but the causes of death of the other women could not be
determined because their bodies had decomposed so badly.
Prosecutors showed that Blair's semen was found on the body of
victim Sheliah McKinzie and presented evidence they said showed
Blair may have been the one who called 911 to tell police where to
find the bodies of victims.
Blair has denied involvement in the killings and his defense
attorneys said the evidence against him was weak and
circumstantial. For example, they said the semen found on McKinzie
proves Blair had sex with her, but not that he killed her.
In addition to McKinzie, 38, the victims were: Anna Ewing, 42;
Patricia Wilson Butler, 45; Darci I. Williams, 25; Carmen Hunt, 40;
and Claudette Juniel, 31.
Charges against Blair in two other slayings - those of Nellia
Harris, 33, and Sandra Reed, 47 - were dismissed in October.
Harris, unlike the other victims, was killed in 2003.
Blair also had been charged in three rapes and an assault that
involved four victims who survived their attacks. Those charges
also were dropped.
Blair was arrested in September 2004 when he was on parole for
the 1982 murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Angela Monroe, who
was the mother of two of his children. He had served 21 years in
prison.