Johnson County DA to seek death penalty in killing of pregnant Olathe woman

Johnson County prosecutors said Monday they will seek the death penalty for a man charged with killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child.

Devonte Wash is charged in Johnson County District Court with capital murder in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Ashley Harlan inside her Olathe townhouse in January.

She was about 20 weeks pregnant, and Wash was the father of the baby boy who also died as a result of the shooting.

Wash, 26, of Kansas City, Kan., was arraigned on the charge Monday, and his attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

District Attorney Steve Howe then filed written notice that a jury will be asked to sentence Wash to death if the case goes to trial.

The premeditated killing of more than one person during the same incident is one of the handful of crimes that carry a potential death sentence under Kansas law. Life in prison without parole is the only other sentencing option for capital murder.

Wash was the one who called 911 to report finding Harlan dead, according to testimony in a September preliminary hearing.

Investigators later found that Wash bought a 9mm handgun about a month before the killing.

Shell casings found in a yard where he had been seen firing it in the air matched shell casings from the murder scene, according to testimony.

Wash is scheduled to be in court again Feb. 6 for a hearing on pretrial motions.