By Associated Press
VAN BUREN, Ark. (AP) An Arkansas judge has dismissed local charges against four carnival workers suspected in the deaths of a retired couple in Kansas.
Investigators say one suspect texted the others posing as a carnival mafia boss and ordered them to kill the couple. The suspects were originally charged in Arkansas with abuse of a corpse and other crimes after the couple’s bodies were found in Arkansas.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that prosecutors asked that the Arkansas charges be dropped because the suspects have been extradited to Kansas. A Crawford County judge granted the motion last week.
The suspects are 52-year-old Kimberly Younger and 54-year-old Michael Fowler Jr., both of Florida; and 35-year-old Rusty Frasier and 38-year-old Christine Tenney of Texas.
All but Tenney are charged with capital murder in Kansas for the July deaths of 78-year-old Alfred Carpenter and 79-year-old Pauline Carpenter.
Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com