(Editor’s note: The following story includes a recap of the trial. Some testimony and descriptions may be disturbing to some readers and inappropriate for younger readers. The juvenile females in this case are not being identified by name.)
WINFIELD – Marty Anderson, Jr. is facing decades in prison now that a Cowley County Jury has convicted him of attempted second-degree murder, kidnapping and multiple sex crimes. The convictions stem from an incident at Anderson’s home near Rock in Nov. 2018 and a related sexual-assault investigation.
“I am pleased at the jury verdicts and my thoughts are with the victims,” Cowley County Attorney Larry Schwartz said in an interview with KSOK NewsCow following the verdicts.
Sentencing in the case is set for 1:30 p.m., Nov. 23 in the courtroom of Chief Judge Nicholas St. Peter.
Jurors deliberated about four hours Wednesday before delivering guilty verdicts on all counts. The trial began Monday morning.
Anderson, Jr., 35, had two cases consolidated for trial. One involved an incident at a residence northwest of Rock in which his former wife, Elizabeth Alberts, was shot. A separate case involved multiple sexual assaults of a girl under 14.
The sexual assaults referenced in the second case were said to have occurred over the course of two years or more when the victim was 11 and 13.
Three of the sexual assault convictions against Anderson, Jr. qualify him for sentences of 25 years to life under Jessica’s Law, which is aimed at sexual offenders who target children. That law is named for Jessica Lunsford, a child from Florida, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in the 1990s.
Anderson, Jr. was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, aggravated burglary and aggravated assault for the incident that occurred Nov. 8 and 9 at a home he had shared with his wife, Elizabeth and his two stepchildren.
Victims in the case were among those who testified at trial.
The state presented considerable evidence against Anderson, Jr. during the trial.
Those who testified included:
Jay Tate, of the Winfield Police Dept., testified he was on scene in the 6000 block of 22nd Rd. the morning of Nov. 9 as part of a regional SWAT Team. At the time he understood there was a standoff situation.
As Tate walked in the area of the residence he was approached by two juvenile females. Both girls had their hands bound in front of them. One of the girls told Tate that the other girl “has his gun.”
The two girls had apparently escaped from Anderson, Jr., who had been holding them captive inside the residence.
Tate was the shield operator for the SWAT Team as it entered the residence a short time later. By that time, Anderson, Jr. was asleep on a couch. He was not wearing a shirt and his sweatpants were pulled down to his ankles.
He was put to the ground and taken into custody. A search of his pockets turned up zip ties and a bullet, Tate testified.
Tate testified that Anderson, Jr. said “I should’ve used a bigger gun. You know what I mean.”
Elizabeth Alberts had been shot and found injured outside near the road. She was transported to the hospital that day and survived the shooting.
Cowley County Undersheriff Christina McDonald provided a basic timeline of Nov. 8 and 9 2018, based on interviews she was part of as a result of the investigation. That included discussions with two juvenile girls.
Around midnight or after, Anderson, Jr. is said to have come to the residence wearing all camo. At the time, a protective order against him was in place, based on a previous arrest, so Anderson, Jr. was not to be at the family home.
Anderson, Jr. zip tied both juvenile girls and led them to a back bedroom. He used duct tape around their legs. The girls were told “they would die” tonight, according to McDonald’s testimony.
He also took their phones.
One of the girls told investigators she was made to have intercourse, and to perform oral sex, with Anderson Jr. at various points during the ordeal. A rape kit performed on the girl by medical professionals after she was freed showed DNA on a private area of her body, and semenal fluid on her underwear, that was a match for Anderson, Jr.
DNA evidence in the case was presented by James Newman, a forensic biologist with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Approximately an hour or so after Marty arrived the night of crime, Elizabeth came home and the two went outside. They began talking. Elizabeth Anderson is said to have told Marty “don’t shoot them” in regard to the girls.
By the time morning rolled around, Marty and Elizabeth were arguing.
Det. Sgt. Stacey Allen, of the sheriff’s dept., testified in regard to an interview with Elizabeth Anderson following the incident Nov. 9.
Elizabeth Anderson was said to have remarked of her husband “he better not have bond, or he’s going to kill us.”
Elizabeth Anderson recounted to Allen events of the night and early morning. That included a demand from Anderson Jr. that his estranged wife have sexual intercourse with him.
She said during intercourse, Anderson Jr. choked her. Something he’d not previously done.
Marty and Elizabeth also spent time on the front porch smoking. At times Anderson Jr. would wave a gun around.
Marty and Elizabeth eventually fought outside, over a gun. She got ahold of the gun and removed the magazine. She tossed it away, but Marty retrieved the items.
That’s when Marty Anderson Jr. shot at Elizabeth. She was struck and injured. Elizabeth managed to escape the home through a window and made it to the roadway to get help.
After the shooting, Anderson, Jr. is accused of demanding oral sex from one of the juvenile girls. Each sexual assault is said to have occurred with the same juvenile girl. The second girl told investigators she could not corroborate every sex act because she’d not been present for them all.
When Anderson Jr. fell asleep, one of the girls grabbed his firearm and both girls escaped.
Det. Sgt. Allen also told jurors that about two weeks prior to the Nov. 9 incident, on Oct. 25, she interviewed a juvenile girl who accused her stepfather of sexual assault.
Her stepfather was identified as Marty Anderson Jr. He was arrested on multiple sex-related charges.
The girl said Anderson Jr. had been sexually assaulting her since she was 11. He would sometimes demand sex when she would ask him permission to do things, like go out with her friends.
He would ask for number 1 for oral sex and number 3 to indicate sexual intercourse.
She recalled a specific event on her 13th birthday when she asked to do something, Allen said, and Anderson Jr. demanded oral sex from her.
Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Bob Levelle testified to taking two guns into evidence. That included the gun the girls had taken – a small compact semi auto handgun.
Another handgun was found in a ditch and taken into evidence.
Tommy Scott, with the Cowley County Sheriff’s Dept., also testified. He was on the stand when recordings were presented in which Anderson Jr. spoke with his then wife and a juvenile female on the phone.
In a phone call with with Elizabeth, Marty Anderson acknowledged having sexual relations with a juvenile girl.
The defense called no witnesses during the trial, however, it was noted that Anderson, Jr. had been drinking heavily through the ordeal.
