The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the convictions of a Valley Center man who was found guilty along with his wife of a series of crimes that took place in 2016.
Jeff Hilliard and his wife Heidi were arrested after the murder of 33-year-old Scottie Goodpaster, who was attacked with an ax, knife and staple gun. His body was found hanging from a tree in Harvey County. Hilliard was convicted of first degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery and rape. He was also found guilty for the rape of Goodpaster’s girlfriend. Prosecutors said the killing involved an alleged $185 debt that that was owed for methamphetamine.
Hilliard and his wife were convicted in 2018. Hilliard’s attorneys argued that the district court erred by declining to suppress evidence from his cell phone and his home surveillance system, and by providing incorrect instructions to the jury.
The court found insufficient evidence for a conviction on conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and that conviction was reversed, but the other claims of error were rejected and the remaining convictions and sentences were upheld.
