TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday reversed the first-degree murder conviction of a Wichita man.
Mark Holley III was convicted in the 2017 death of 18-year-old D’Shaun Smith during a botched drug deal. The court said the Sedgwick County District Court should have presented a self-defense argument during jury instructions. Holley argued that he shot Smith after Smith tried to rob him and pointed a gun at him.
The court upheld Holley's convictions on child endangerment charges, arising from a separate incident in which Holley robbed a man while the victim's young children were sitting in the backseat of his car. The murder case now goes back to the district court for further proceedings.