KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three Kansas men are awaiting trial in connection to the Valentine’s Day 2022 murder of Rylee Styler.
Tyler Jacob Lee Chappell, 23, Jack Henry Thomas, 23, and Marvellis Arman Miller are charged in Leavenworth District Court in connection to Styler’s death.
Officials found Styler’s body burned in the trunk of a car north of Leavenworth on Feb. 14, 2022.
Leavenworth County District Attorney Todd Thompson charged the men in late December 2023.
Chappell faces one count of first-degree murder and one count of violating the Kansas Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO.
Thomas and Miller face first-degree murder, or, in the alternative, felony murder. Both men are also charged with violating the RICO Act.
Court documents specify the RICO charges as being associated with the “unlawful collection of unlawful debt by racketeering.”
Last week, Leavenworth County Judge Gerald Kuckelman presided over the preliminary hearings for Thomas and Chappell, setting trial dates of June 3 and June 10, respectively.
Miller had his preliminary hearing on March 13. His arraignment is set for April 10. The judge has not yet set a trial date for Miller.
As part of last week’s case activity, prosecutors filed a motion to be able to include a conversation Styler had with a friend three days before his body was found.
The conversation took place at an Overland Park steakhouse, in which the friend noticed Styler had a bruise on his face. The friend told detectives Styler said he had been “kicked in the face and a gun was held to his head for ‘not bringing enough back.'"
The judge has not ruled on the state’s motion to include Styler’s comments made to the friend.
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