Kylr Yust, accused of killing two women, ordered to undergo mental health evaluation
A Cass County judge on Tuesday ordered Kylr Yust, who is accused of killing two women whose remains were found in 2017, to undergo a mental health examination after his attorneys argued he was not competent to stand trial.
In the order, Judge William Collins said there was reasonable cause to believe Yust lacked the mental ability to proceed in the pending criminal case.
The Missouri Department of Mental Health will arrange for Yust to be examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist and file a written report of detailed findings.
Yust, 30, faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abandonment of a corpse in the deaths of Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions. Kopetsky had been missing since 2007 and Runions disappeared in 2016.
In court documents, Yust’s attorneys said they believe he suffers from a mental disease or defect, a belief based on the opinion of a psychiatrist who evaluated Yust for the defense.
Yust was charged months after a mushroom hunter found human bones in April 2017 in a wooded area south of Belton. Authorities then scoured the area near a quarry and found more remains, including a second skull.
At least four people told investigators that Yust confessed to them that he choked Kopetsky — who was last seen in May 2007 leaving Belton High School — until she stopped breathing, according to charging documents. Yust told one friend he discarded her remains in a wooded area, according to a probable cause statement.
Runions was last seen alive in September 2016 leaving a gathering with Yust, police said. Witnesses at the gathering said Yust was drinking heavily and was “acting very possessive towards (Runions) and aggressive towards others at the party,” according to court records.
Yust’s trial is scheduled for Nov. 4 in Cass County Circuit Court.
This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 6:26 PM.
