DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a deadly Kansas knife attack have made an arrest.
On Monday, Lawrence Police arrested 40-year-old Julius Robert Beasley of Lawrence for killing Chrystal White.
Just after 4:30a.m. Feb. 22, emergency responders found a 51-year-old woman later identified as White of Lawrence. with apparent stab wounds in a tent just north of the city's sanctioned camp near 100 Maple near the Kansas River in Lawrence, according to a Police Department spokesperson Laura McCabe. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Patrol officers immediately started interviewing witnesses, the investigations unit responded, a suspect was quickly identified, and an area canvass was underway. The Lawrence Police Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle (Drone) and Patrol Service Dog Units were also deployed.
By about 9:00am, police personnel located Beasley in Burcham Park and detained him for questioning and held him on unrelated Douglas County warrants.
Since Beasley was already being held in jail, investigators were able to more thoroughly investigate the incident prior to making an arrest. Investigators worked closely with the Douglas County District Attorney’s office throughout this investigation, and with the arrest, police now turn the case over to their office. Beasley is being held on requested charges of 1st Degree Murder and Felony Interference.
Beasley has previous convictions for Criminal threat, burglary and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.