Olathe murder conviction upheld

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the murder conviction of an Olathe man prosecuted for the 1992 killing of his wife.

It was the third time the court considered appeals by Kenneth E. Haddock, who was found guilty of first-degree murder by a Johnson County jury. His wife, Barbara Haddock, was found beaten to death amidst a pile of firewood inside the garage of the couple’s home.

In Friday’s opinion, the court found that a Johnson County judge acted within his discretion to deny Haddock a new trial based on the results of DNA testing done subsequent to his conviction.

According to the Supreme Court ruling, that testing produced some results that were favorable to Haddock, some that confirmed evidence at trial, and some that were inconclusive.

Johnson County District Judge James Franklin Davis did not err in deciding that “there was not a reasonable probability that the new evidence would have changed the outcome of the trial,” according to the Supreme Court decision.

Haddock, who is now 67, was sentenced to life in prison, but is eligible for a parole hearing in January, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.