Wichita man to be tried for murder in rape, death of 100-year-old woman

A judge on Wednesday ruled that an autopsy report, coupled with testimony from a hearing late last year, is enough to try a Wichita man for murder in the death of the 100-year-old woman he’s accused of raping.

Sedgwick County District Court Judge David Dahl found the report, which shows Martha Schell’s Oct. 21 death from a blood clot was a homicide, provided enough evidence to try 36-year-old Kasey Nesbitt on first-degree felony murder. Earlier this month, prosecutors tacked on the murder charge to a host of counts Nesbitt is facing after Sedgwick County coroner Jaime Oeberst determined the Sept. 30 attack on Schell caused injuries that severely limited her mobility and, ultimately, the fatal clot.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said in a previous interview that the additional charge came on the heels of the autopsy report’s May 12 release, five months after Schell’s death. Nesbitt also is charged with rape and aggravated burglary.

Defense attorney Val Wachtel said Wednesday in court that the District Attorney’s Office “has not provided sufficient probable cause” to justify trying his client on the added count after Bennett presented the autopsy report and called just one witness – a Wichita police detective who spoke with Schell after the assault and later attended her autopsy – to testify.

Dahl set a jury trial for Aug. 17, but the date will likely be delayed.

Nesbitt is accused of breaking into Schell’s home in the 800 block of South Crestway through a back door and sexually assaulting her in the overnight hours of Sept. 30. Wichita police have called the attack “a crime of opportunity.”

Nesbitt has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is jailed in lieu of $300,000 bond.

Bennett during Wednesday’s hearing said Schell suffered a broken back and other injuries in the assault “rending her immobile,” which can be a precursor to the formation of blood clots. She lived independently and moved about with a walker before the attack.

“She was 100 and didn’t have many years left,” Bennett said. “But she died as a result of what this man did to her.”

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Wichita man to be tried for murder in rape, death of 100-year-old woman."