A Texas woman has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on capital murder charges stemming from the deaths of two individuals in July 2018, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
Kimberley Stacey Younger, 55, of Aransas Pass, Texas, was sentenced on one count of capital murder in Barton County District Court. Senior Judge James Fleetwood sentenced Younger an additional 245 months (20 years and five months) for one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of solicitation to commit murder and one count of theft. The sentences are to be served consecutively in a Kansas Department of Corrections facility. Because the State did not seek the death penalty in this case, the only authorized sentence was life without parole.
Younger’s sentence is for her role in connection with the July 2018 deaths of Alfred “Sonny” Carpenter and Pauline Carpenter, both of Wichita. Four other individuals have been convicted for their connection to the crimes.
The case was investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Great Bend Police Department in Kansas, as well as the Van Buren Police Department, Crawford County (Arkansas) Sheriff’s Office, and the Arkansas State Police. Deputy Attorney General Vic Braden and Assistant Attorney General Jessica Domme of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case.
At the sentencing
Two of the Carpenters’ six children, Sharon McGoldrick and Kristi Lee, spoke at the sentencing hearing, which was held one day after what would have been Alfred Carpenter’s 82nd birthday. The sisters stood together and showed the judge a photo of their parents.
Lee described the Carpenters as friendly, honest, hard-working and caring people.
“The two people whose lives you did not care about cared about so many people,” she said to Younger. “I could go on and on about what great people my parents were. You robbed all of us.”
McGoldrick said the sentencing came at the end of three years of waiting for justice, with many trips to the Barton County Courthouse and climbing the 51 stair steps to the third-floor courtroom. She said Younger showed disrespect for her parents at her jury trial, with “fake crocodile tears.” But on Monday, Younger stared ahead throughout the hearing, not looking at the family members.
“Two people were murdered, two lives were taken, and for what?” McGoldrick said.
Both sisters asked that the judge make the sentences run consecutively, as he did, recognizing each of the crimes.
The state also asked for restitution. Although Younger will most likely never be released, if she gets a prison job, 25% of her income will go toward restitution of more than $30,000.
Editor’s note: An expanded version of this story will be posted on Tuesday and will be published in Wednesday’s Great Bend Tribune.
