The man accused of killing a Cowley College student in Arkansas City in January is scheduled to be arraigned at 3:30 p.m. today in Cowley County District Court in Winfield.
The charges will be read to the defendant, Justin Eugene Thurber, who will then be asked how he pleads. He should plead either “guilty,” “not guilty,” or “nolo contendere.” A trial date will also be set.
Attorney General Paul Morrison will file notice he intends to consider the death penalty for Thurber, according to spokeswoman Ashley Anstaett. The notice provides options for Morrision as he prosecutes the case against Thurber, but doesn’t necessarily mean he will ask that Thurber be executed, she said.
Both Thurber and the victim, Jodi Sanderholm, 19, were Ark City residents when she disappeared Jan. 5 after a danceline team practice. Her car was found four days later in the Cowley County State Lake, east of Ark City. Her body was found in a wooded area about 11 miles from her car.
Thurber is charged with capital murder, aggravated kidnappng, rape and aggravated sodomy. He is being represented by two lawyers who work for the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit, and being held in the county jail.
Death sentenced men are held at the El Dorado Correctional Facility. Any women sentenced to death would be held at the Topeka Women’s Correctional Facility. Executions will be by lethal injection.
