By C1 Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. — A woman whose brother’s killer was behind bars never thought she’d have to deal with him getting back out.
But as KSHB reports, a lot happened in the 22 years since Shelleen Eberhart’s brother, Charles Dale Duty, was murdered by Kenneth Cook.
Originally he was sentenced to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole for shooting Duty in his sleep for his prescription drugs, then took Duty to his nearby garage to cut off identifying tattoos and removing his teeth. Cook tried to hide the body by throwing it in a nearby river wrapped in a rug and attached to a heavy metal pole.
Eberhart says she was urged by both the defense and the prosecution to move on with her life after the sentencing, so she gave up watching news reports.
Years later, she found herself thinking of her brother and performed a Google search on his murderer. Much to her surprise, Cook was up for parole.
Since his original conviction, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the original sentencing had been conducted incorrectly. Cook was resentenced and given the possibility of parole.
He appealed in 2003 to the Federal court. Attorneys said they hadn’t been able to cross examine a witness in the case, and Cook received a new trial. He was convicted of a lesser second degree murder charge and became eligible for parole in 2014.
And no one told Eberhart.
Eberhart had moved in 2003, and updated her address with the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office. But that information was not relayed to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
A spokesperson for the Kansas DOC said that only 25 percent of states nationwide have unified victim notification systems where victims only need to register in one place.
The county district attorney’s office said they typically advise victims to register with the DOC. They don’t know why that didn’t happen in this case.
Eberhart’s address is now updated with the DOC and she is receiving communication. She’s still upset that she missed years of advocating for her brother.
“I’m afraid if this is happening to me, this is possibly happening to other families and other victims and I think there needs to be a change.”
She was able to provide written testimony for the board to consider, and Cook’s parole was denied. He has another chance this month.
Eberhart plans to attend in person this time.