Wichita man sentenced to life in prison in College Hill stabbing

A Wichita man convicted of first-degree murder in a stabbing death in College Hill Park was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

Kyle Carter, 31, was charged with taking part in the Sept. 8 murder of Carl Cooper, 32. Carter will be eligible for parole in 25 years.

Wichita police said Cooper was chased down and stabbed in the park by Carter and Trenton Custer, 35, after Cooper broke into a BMW in the 400 block of South Clifton. Custer will stand trial on a charge of first-degree murder next month.

In his April trial, Carter told the jury he and Custer were visiting the home of the woman who owned the BMW when the break-in occurred just before 4 a.m. Carter admitted chasing Cooper into the park but said he had no idea Cooper had been stabbed until after the confrontation had ended.

He said he briefly lost track of Cooper when he went over a privacy fence but later saw Custer confront Cooper in the park. He said there was a brief altercation between the two, after which Cooper fell to the ground. Carter said he then ran to Cooper, hit him, found change in his pocket and threw it at him.

Prosecutors said Cooper’s DNA was found under the cuticles of Carter’s left hand, and Carter knew a knife was involved when police first asked him about a confrontation in College Hill Park involving a weapon. Carter told the jury it was Custer who stabbed Cooper.

Prosecutor Justen Phelps told the jury in his closing argument that it didn’t matter which of the two inflicted the fatal wounds.

“The evidence is not clear who stabbed Carl Cooper, but there is evidence that they both were there and they both were involved,” he said during the April trial.

This story was originally published June 25, 2014 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Wichita man sentenced to life in prison in College Hill stabbing."