Mary Robin Walter: Kansas cold case ends 44 years later as man convicted of killing former neighbor in 1980

Great Bend, Kansas
AP
—

More than 44 years after a nursing student was killed in her trailer in central Kansas, her former neighbor has been sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for killing her.

The investigation into the shooting death of Mary Robin Walter, 23, of Great Bend, on January 24, 1980, remained fruitless until 2022, when a detective persuaded Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir to reopen the case and use technology and techniques that were not available at the time.

The new evidence implicated Steven L. Hanks, who was 25 at the time and had been a suspect from the start. The Kansas attorney general’s office said in a statement Friday that it was Hanks’ admission in new interviews that led authorities to charge him in 2022, when he was living in Burden, Kansas.

Hanks, now 70, was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder. His plea deal in August called for a sentence of at least five years and no more than 25 years. But Barton County District Court Judge Steve Johnson on Thursday deviated from the plea agreement and sentenced Hanks to at least 10 years and no more than 25 years.

The sheriff said he believes it is the oldest cold case in Kansas to be solved and result in a conviction.

“It disturbs me that many people who were so affected by this tragic crime died before the suspect was brought to justice,” Bellendir said in a statement Friday. “I consider myself fortunate to have had the resources and diligent personnel to close this case. The credit for solving this homicide goes to the dedicated police officers who had the tenacity to convict him.”

Walter was a wife, mother and nursing school student when she was shot multiple times. Police found a .22-caliber handgun at the scene and confirmed it was the murder weapon. The sheriff said no one had actively investigated the case since at least 1982 until it was reopened, the Wichita Eagle reported.

Detective Sergeant Adam Hales and Lt. David Paden re-interviewed Hanks, a neighbor of Walter’s at the time and a former suspect. During his interviews, Hanks admitted to killing Walter, the attorney general’s office said. Assistant Attorney General Jessica Domme thanked them for their diligence.

“Robin’s killer was finally brought to justice thanks to their dedication and commitment to this unsolved case,” Domme said in the statement.

Hanks spent time in prison for another crime. He was arrested in 1981 and charged with rape, battery, robbery and burglary. He was convicted in 1983 and released in 1993, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Statements from the sheriff’s office and the attorney general, as well as online court records, do not specify whether Hanks ever revealed a motive for Walter’s killing. The sheriff’s office said Bellendir was unavailable for comment Saturday. Officials from the attorney general’s office and Hanks’ attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press Saturday.