Trial delayed in south Kansas City rampage that left five dead in 2014

The man charged with killing five people in south Kansas City in 2014 on Friday was granted a delay of his trial until early 2018.

The trial for Brandon Howell, 36, had been scheduled for September 2017.

But on Friday, a Jackson County judge granted a defense request for the delay until March 2018.

Howell is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 2, 2014, shotgun slayings of Susan Choucroun, 69; Lorene Hurst, 88; and her son Darrel Hurst, 63; and the beating deaths of George Taylor, 80; and Anna Taylor, 86.

He also faces charges of burglary, illegal possession of weapons, vehicle theft and four counts of armed criminal action.

Jackson County prosecutors have said they are seeking a death sentence for Howell.

According to court records, Howell allegedly burglarized the Taylor home at 1 E. Woodbridge Lane. A woman inside the residence dialed 911.

Arriving officers first found Choucroun dead in her driveway next door to the Taylor home. Officers found the Taylors critically injured inside the basement of their home. They died later at a hospital.

Officers then found the bodies of the Hursts in the front yard of Lorene Hurst’s home at 7 E. Woodbridge. She and her son may have just returned from grocery shopping.

Witnesses told police that after hearing several gunshots, they saw the Taylors’ Toyota Highlander speed down the street. One witness said the driver stopped in front of Choucroun’s house, got out and shot Choucroun before getting back in the vehicle and driving away.

Howell was arrested later that night as he walked along Interstate 29 in Kansas City, North, with a shotgun in his right pant leg. He had two spent shells in a pocket along with the keys to the Highlander, officers said.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Trial delayed in south Kansas City rampage that left five dead in 2014."