Johnson County man faces at least 20 years for 2018 murder of girlfriend’s ex-husband
A Paola man faces at least 20 years in prison for the 2018 murder of his girlfriend’s ex-husband in Shawnee under a plea deal entered this week in Johnson County District Court.
Vincenzo Anecio Lucasta, 52, pleaded no contest Wednesday to second-degree intentional murder in the fatal stabbing of 57-year-old David J. Paterno during a gruesome confrontation inside Paterno’s West 51st Place home, according to court records.
Paterno was found stabbed early the morning of Aug. 8, 2018, after a neighbor overheard a loud fight inside the home and saw a man emerge from the house with a knife and leave in a white pickup truck.
The first officers at the scene found Paterno sitting inside his home, surrounded by blood, and he died before paramedics arrived.
Investigators visited Paterno’s ex-wife and questioned several people there, including Lucasta, who admitted to owning the white truck and had been in a relationship with Paterno’s former partner.
Lucasta has a lengthy criminal record under a separate name, Morgan Lee Speakman, and spent time in prison in both Kansas and Missouri. He has previously been convicted under the name Speakman, including a 15-year sentence for armed robbery.
Lucasta was arrested a week after the murder and charged with first-degree murder. He has remained in custody in lieu of a $2 million bond since.
Lucasta pleaded no contest to the lesser charge of second-degree intentional homicide under the terms of a plea agreement entered this week. That agreement caps his possible prison sentence at 21 1/2 years and allows Lucasta to argue for a sentence of 20 years, court records show.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 14.
