Shawnee Co. DA presses charges against suspect in cold case

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay has charged a man for a 2019 cold case.

Shawnee Co. DA Mike Kagay says he has filed criminal charges against Claude Rafeal Kearse for the cold case homicide of Darius Emmanuel Calvert.

According to Kagay, on May 8, 2019, Calvert was reported as a missing person after not being seen or heard from since April 26, 2019. He said after an investigation, it was found that Calvert had been murdered in Topeka and his body was discarded elsewhere. However, he said the investigation remained cold until June of 2020 when partial skeletal remains were found in Osage Co. He said in December 2020, DNA analysis from the remain confirmed that it was Calvert.

Kagay said on Friday that after a 2-year investigation into the disappearance, the Topeka Police Department and the DA Cold Cae Investigator presented the results of the investigation to prosecutors in his office. As a result, he said his office filed a single charge of Premeditated Murder in the First Degree against Claude Kearse.

According to Kagay, Kearse has been placed under arrest and his bond has been set at $1 million. He said no future hearings have been scheduled yet.

Kagay said the Topeka Police Department is handling the investigation and anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to law enforcement immediately.