8:23 p.m. | The sentencing portion of the case will begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning.
8:13 p.m. | The jury found Kylr Yust guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Kara Kopetsky and guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Jessica Runions.
7:45 p.m. | The jury has a verdict. It's unclear how soon it will be announced.
5:25 p.m. | Judge William Collins said he typically wouldn't allow this since a map wasn't introduced as evidence. He said he's making an exception since the jurors are from St. Charles County, across state.
The defense looked over the note, the map. The judge will send copies of the map back to the jury to see if that satisfies what they need. #YustTrial
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) April 15, 2021
5:05 p.m. | The jury said it has an issue with Instruction #19, which states Yust must have been in Cass County on Sept. 8, 2016 between 11:45 p.m. and Sept. 9, 2016 at 6 a.m. to be found guilty.
The jurors said they can't make that call since they're not familiar with the area.
The defense and prosecution agree they need a map.
Jury had an issue with instruction 19, which is whether or not Yust was in Cass county on Sept 8 2016 between 11:45pm ish and Sept 9 2016 6am. They said they are not qualified to make that determination since they're not from here. Both sides say, GET THEM A MAP #YustTrial
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) April 15, 2021
4:12 p.m. | The jury has requested exhibits 39, 40, 41, 23, 25 and 27 for review.
41 Action News confirmed the documents the jury has asked to see are phone records.
The jurors, who are not from the Kansas City area, also asked to see a map of Jackson and Cass counties. The judge told them they'll need to rely on memory for that.
The jury has asked for more evidence to review #YustTrial exhibit 41. We've confirmed all the documents the jury has asked to review today are phone records. Jury also asked for clarification on Jackson, Cass County boundaries/map, told to rely on trial memory. @41actionnews
— Andy Alcock (@AndyAlcock2) April 15, 2021
Meanwhile, Yust's attorneys filed a motion for acquittal, saying the state did not prove Yust is guilty of anything. The judge denied it.
As deliberations continue in Cass County, Kylr Yust’s defense team has filed a motion for acquittal #YustTrial @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/aewfJhZBlO
— Melissa Greenstein (@MGreensteinTV) April 15, 2021
9:35 a.m. | Judge William Collins said the jury requested to see exhibits 3, 7, and 8.
8:30 a.m. | On Wednesday, the Kylr Yust murder case was handed to the jury for deliberation on a verdict.
And now we wait.
The jury deliberated until 10 p.m. Wednesday and resumed deliberations at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
In a slightly surprising turn of events, Kylr Yust testified in his own defense on Wednesday. He pointed the finger at his step-brother Jessep Carter for the murders of Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions.
Carter committed suicide in jail, but his widow testified for the state that Yust appeared guilty of the murders.
The prosecution and defense presented closing arguments after Yust's testimony, and the jury was given instruction to deliberate.
The jury will weigh the two first-degree murder charges and could find Yust guilty of one, both, lesser charges or none at all.
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41 Action News is committed to bringing you complete coverage of the trial of Kylr Yust, the man accused in the murders of Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions. Visit kshb.com/yusttrial for all our stories, case details, timeline and more.
