More than 44 years after a nursing student was killed in her mobile home in central Kansas, her former neighbor has been sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for her murder.
The investigation into the Jan. 24, 1980, shooting death of Mary Robin Walter, 23, of Great Bend, went cold until 2022, when a detective persuaded Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir to revisit the case and use technology and procedures that were not accessible then.
The new evidence pointed to Steven L. Hanks, who was 25 years old at the time and had been a suspect from the beginning. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Friday that Hanks’ admission in additional interviews enabled officials to arrest him in 2022, when he lived in Burden, Kansas.
Hanks, 70, received his sentence for second-degree murder on Thursday. His plea deal in August provided for a minimum of five years and a maximum of twenty-five years. However, Barton County District Court Judge Steve Johnson deviated from the plea agreement on Thursday, sentencing Hanks to at least 10 years and no more than 25 years.
The sheriff stated that they believe it is Kansas’ oldest cold case to be solved and convicted.
“It bothers me that many of the people who were so affected by this tragic crime have since passed away before bringing the suspect to justice,” Bellendir said in a statement Friday. “I feel myself fortunate that I have the resources and dedicated workers to complete this case. The credit for solving this homicide goes to the devoted detectives who worked tirelessly to bring it to a conviction.”
Walter was a wife, mother, and nursing student when she was shot several times. Police discovered a.22-caliber handgun at the site and determined it was the murder weapon. According to the sheriff, no one has actively investigated the case since at least 1982 until it was reopened, as reported by the Wichita Eagle.
Sgt. Detective Adam Hales and Lt. David Paden re-interviewed Hanks, Walter’s neighbor at the time and a former suspect. Hanks acknowledged killing Walter during interviews, according to the attorney general’s office. The prosecution, Associate Deputy Attorney General Jessica Domme, expressed gratitude for their efforts.
“Robin’s killer was finally brought to justice because of their dedication and commitment to this cold case,” Domme stated.
Hanks served time in prison for another crime. He was arrested in 1981 and accused of rape, assault, robbery, and burglary. He was sentenced in 1983 and released in 1993, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
According to statements from the sheriff’s and attorney general’s offices, as well as online court records, Hanks never explained his motivation for killing Walter. The sheriff’s office said Bellendir was unavailable for comment on Saturday. The attorney general’s office and Hanks’ attorney did not immediately reply to The Associated Press’s requests for comment on Saturday.