Nemecheck

Reprint of The Hays Daily News - Tuesday - February 8, 1977

Francis Donald Nemechek

The confession of Francis Donald Nemechek, charged with the killings of four women and a 3 year-old boy, was read into the record Tuesday during the 2nd day of testimony at his trial in Saline County District Court.

Leonard Pruter, Norton, a Kansas Bureau of Investigation Special Agent, told of how the confession was obtained and then proceeded to read it.

Pruter said Nemechek, 26, Wakeeney, gave the confession October 7, 1976 during a conference at the Ellis County Law Enforcement Center, in which Pruter, the defendant, both his attorneys and the County Attorneys of Graham, Ellis, and Trego counties were present.

Initial testimony in the trial has concerned the death of Carla Baker, 20, Hays. Former County Attorney Simon Roth, Jr., who is serving as special prosecutor in the trial, asked Pruter to read the portion of the confession concerning Miss Baker. Then, on cross examination, Defense Attorney Robert Earnest, Russell, had Pruter read the rest of the confession.

Nemechek's confession as read by Pruter related the following tales:
On the day of the Baker killing , Nemechek drove to Hays, depressed because he couldn't find any friends with whom to go out. He said he passed a girl (Carla Baker) on a bicycle, stopped his pickup truck and exposed himself to her, Nemechek said the girl, rode by and said, "You stupid bastard, you think you are funny?" The defendant said the girl's response angered him and prompted him to grab her and push her into his truck. He then drove her to the south side of Cedar Bluff Reservoir some 50 miles away.

Nemechek said he forced the girl to the back of his truck where they struggled. Nemechek said he tore off some of the girl's clothes, intending to rape her, whereupon the girl kicked him between the legs.

"When she kicked me, I told her she would not kick anyone else again," Pruter quoted from Nemechek's confession. Nemechek commented in the confession that his wife had once kicked him between the legs and he retaliated by giving her two black eyes.

Nemechek said he went to the front of the truck and got a knife, prompting Miss Baker to flee, The accused killer said he caught "Miss Baker after she ran away and stabbed her.

At that point in the testimony, Roth concluded his questioning and Attorney Earnest cross examined Pruter, asking him to read the remaining portion of the confession.

Pruter began with the portion concerning the Lovette-Young killings. Pruter quoted the confession as saying that in December, 1974, Nemechek was depressed because of a visitation problem involving his child and ex-wife. He got in his pickup and began to drive, the confession said.

Nemechek said he was driving on Interstate 70 when he came upon a car with a flat tire. Nemechek said he stopped to help the occupants of the car, later determined to be Cheryl Young, 21, her son, Guy 3, and Diane Lovette, 19 all of Fort Madison, Iowa.

Nemechek said the shorter woman (Miss Lovette), "who reminded me of my wife", declined his help and began to curse him. Miss Lovette's cursing angered Nemechek, the confession said, and he forced all three of the victims into his pickup at the point of an unloaded shotgun.

"I decided to go out to the old place on the farm," Nemechek said, referring to a farm southwest of Hill City, owned by Joe Faulkner, where where he was employed at the time.

"I wanted to teach them a lesson," he said in the confession, referring to the cursing. At the house, Nemechek had the two women undress and he raped Miss Lovette. When he had finished Mrs. Young kicked him in the side. Nemechek then went to his truck, loaded his shotgun, and returned to shoot each woman one time. He said one of the women continued to curse him after being shot. Nemechek went back to his truck, reloaded his shotgun, returned upstairs and shot Mrs. Young a second time.

Apparently throughout the entire episode, Nemechek took no notice of the 3 year old boy, Guy Young, who was found frozen to death outside the farmhouse a month later.

"When they found the bodies at the house, I was just as surprised as Joe," Nemechek said in the confession.

Pruter then began reading the section of the confession concerning Paula Fabrizius, 16, Ellis. Nemechek said he had gone to the Cedar Bluff Reservoir looking for a friend. He stopped at Miss Fabrizius' Rangerette station to ask directions. She directed him to the boat ramp, but he returned when he failed to find his friend there. Nemechek said he asked Miss Fabrizius for a car permit, and after some discussion, he grabbed her and pulled her into his truck.

Nemechek said Miss Fabrizius didn't fight him, but kept pleading with him to let her go. Nemechek drove to a bluff in Gove County overlooking Castle Rock where he raped her.

After the rape, Miss Fabrizius told Nemechek, "My dad will get you for this." Nemechek said in the confession, "I got my knife and pushed it into her." He then threw her body and her clothes off the bluff.

One earlier witness at the trial Tuesday, Gary L. Dirks, Great Bend, a Kansas Bureau of Investigation forensic chemist, told of an examination he made of a carpet from the bed of Nemechek's pickup.

During questioning about the Baker killing, Dirks, said he found Type A blood in the rug and estimated three fourths of a pint had soaked into the rug. He also said he found on the rug a piece of cloth matching a shirt Miss Baker was wearing the night she disappeared.

After reading the confession court was recessed. When the trial was resumed, Graham County Sheriff Don Scott's testimony began the case of the Lovette-Young murders, with former Graham County Attorney Randall Weller, also acting as special prosecutor, taking over the questioning.

Scott told of being summoned January 13, 1975, to the abandoned farmhouse on Joe Faulkner's property where the body of Guy Young had been discovered. The house he said, had not been lived in since the 1930's.

Upstairs were the shot gunned bodies of Guy's mother and Miss Lovette. Also there were the purses of the two women, carrying their identification.

Scott said he took names of individuals who showed up at the crime scene, Nemechek was among them.

Trego County Sheriff Larry Wade also was there, Wade took the witness stand after Scott to tell of going to check on a possible connection between the triple murder and the abandoned Toyota found on a month earlier on I-70. His hunch proved out.

Pruter then returned to the stand to tell of talking with Nemechek about the murders. He said he talked to the defendant about four times and that Nemechek "had no guilty knowledge."

Pruter said Nemechek quit his job with Faulkner about 2 weeks after the bodies were found and went to work at Ed-Lo Welding in Wakeeney. Nemechek was arrested at the welding shop August 24, 1976.

Nemechek was later found guilty of all the crimes and sentenced to serve 5 life sentences.

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