Fri, Mar 19 2010
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Published December 10, 2009 11:34 pm - GIRARD, Kan. — A first-degree murder charge is the latest to be added to the growing rap sheet of a Mulberry man. Duane E. Wahl, 33, has been charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of his roommate, 37-year-old Richard Davis. A first appearance is expected to take place today in Crawford County District Court in Girard. Murder charge filed in absence of body By Greg Grisolano
ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com GIRARD, Kan. — A first-degree murder charge is the latest to be added to the growing rap sheet of a Mulberry man. Duane E. Wahl, 33, has been charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of his roommate, 37-year-old Richard Davis. A first appearance is expected to take place today in Crawford County District Court in Girard. Authorities have yet to locate the body of Davis, who has been missing since Oct. 30 and is presumed dead. Authorities said they believe this is the first case in Crawford County in which a murder charge has been filed in the absence of a victim’s body. The first-degree murder charge stems from DNA evidence collected from a home that authorities say was shared by Davis and Wahl. The results of a lab analysis of that evidence were received Wednesday by local authorities, Sheriff Sandy Horton said Thursday. “The DNA evidence is that of the alleged victim and the suspect,” Horton said. “And that’s just going to confuse you more because I really can’t elaborate past that.” Wahl was in custody when he was charged in the slaying. He has been in the Crawford County Jail since Oct. 31 on charges of violating a protection order and making a false report about a drive-by shooting. Crawford County Attorney Michael Gayoso said that to his knowledge, this case marks the first time that a first-degree murder charge has been filed in the county without a body of a victim. “Without a body, you’ve got to prove the person is also dead,” he said. “It’s an additional fact that’s not typically needed (to be established to the jury).” Disappearance In addition to Wahl and Davis, the home at 410 W. Perry St. in Mulberry was home to Davis’ wife and two children, and Wahl’s girlfriend, 32-year-old Anna Khan. Davis has been missing since Oct. 30, the same day on which Khan filed for a protection order in Crawford County District Court against Wahl. Davis’ wife reported him missing that afternoon. Wahl previously lived in McCune. He moved to Mulberry after an incident last February in which his two dogs reportedly were shot in front of his home by McCune Mayor Don Call. Call was charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty; a plea agreement is pending in that case. Some time after the shooting of his dogs, Wahl and Khan apparently moved to the Perry Street house in Mulberry, a small town in the northeast portion of Crawford County, near the Missouri state line. 
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