Man found guilty of 2022 back-to-back killings in Lawrence: ‘A profound impact’
A Douglas County jury found a man guilty of the murders of two Lawrence men and the attempted murder of police officers who were pursuing him following the killings in July 2022.
At the conclusion of a trial in Douglas County District Court on Monday afternoon, jurors found Rodney Marshall guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. Jurors also convicted Marshall on four counts of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer.
Marshall is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 13.
An attorney for Marshall did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Marshall was convicted of the back-to-back killings of 52-year-old Shelby McCoy and 43-year-old William O’Brien in Lawrence. Marshall allegedly fired shots at officers as they pursued him. The chase wound through residential neighborhoods and downtown Lawrence before it reached Kansas Highway 10, where officers deflated the tires on Marshall’s truck and took him into custody.
“This case has had a profound impact on our community, especially the families and loved ones of Shelby McCoy and William O’Brien,” Douglas County District Attorney Dakota Loomis said in a statement. “While no verdict can undo the loss, we hope today’s outcome provides some measure of accountability and closure for those who have carried the weight of this case for nearly four years.”
