Charges dismissed, refiled against woman in triple killing near Moundridge

Capital murder and first-degree murder charges filed against a 31-year-old woman over a triple killing near Moundridge last fall have been dismissed by the Harvey County prosecutor’s office.

A new case against Myrta M. Rangel, however, was filed Wednesday afternoon in Sedgwick County District Court, Harvey County Attorney David Yoder said in an e-mailed news release. He did not give specifics on the criminal counts she might face.

“The joint decision of this office, and the Office of the Sedgwick County District Attorney, is that Sedgwick County is the best venue for pursuit of charges against Myrta Rangel,” Yoder wrote. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said he could not immediately comment on the case or the charges filed.

Rangel had been scheduled to appear in Harvey County District Court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing. But that has been canceled now that the case there has been dismissed.

Rangel had not made a first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court on new charges as of Wednesday afternoon. It was immediately unclear when that might happen.

Jereme Nelson, 35, and Rangel were wanted for capital murder and three counts of first-degree murder in the Oct. 30 shooting deaths of 33-year-old Travis Street, 37-year-old Angela Graevs and Richard Prouty, 52. Their bodies were found outside a rural home on Spring Lake Road in rural Moundridge where Street and Graevs lived with their 18-month-old son.

The toddler was found inside the home unharmed but crying and screaming after authorities were alerted about the killings. Prouty, of Newton, was a friend of the couple.

Nelson and Rangel fled after slayings. They were captured in Mexico in January.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Charges dismissed, refiled against woman in triple killing near Moundridge."