Second man is convicted in 1997 killing of KCK woman

The second of two men charged in the 1997 killing of Vicky Ernst in Kansas City, Kan., was found guilty Thursday by a Wyandotte County jury.

Jason L. Rucker, 35, and another man had been charged in April after police reviewed the case. Ernst was 33 when she was stabbed to death on Oct. 22, 1997, in her home in the 900 block of Shawnee Road.

Rucker was 16 at the time of the killing but stood trial as an adult and was convicted of first-degree murder. His sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 22.

Also convicted in the case was Torry M. Johnson, also 35. He pleaded guilty in September to first-degree murder. Johnson’s sentencing was scheduled for Tuesday.

Johnson is serving a life sentence in a Missouri prison for the 2005 killing of a Kansas City man. He was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of 46-year-old Eric Holden.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 6:56 PM.