MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
Jury selection and opening arguments began Tuesday in the case against a Phoenix man accused in the killing of a Hutchinson man more than four decades ago.
Jerry Allen, 75, was arrested in connection with the 1982 murder of Michael McKeown following a renewed cold case investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
McKeown, 44, of Hutchinson, was found dead on the morning of March 24, 1982. Investigators believe he was shot and killed the previous night while inside his vehicle, which was parked outside his apartment at 320 E. Sherman St. in Hutchinson.
The Hutchinson Police Department and KBI initially investigated the homicide, but the case remained unsolved for decades.
According to the KBI, agents renewed their work on the case and conducted several key interviews in three states. Investigators said those interviews provided additional evidence needed to pursue charges against Allen.
KBI agents secured an arrest warrant for Allen on Jan. 25. 2025. The Phoenix Police Department later arrested him around 7 p.m. at a residence on West Acoma Drive in Phoenix.
Allen was arrested on allegations of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and was initially booked into the Maricopa County Jail in Arizona.
Allen waived extradition and was transported to Kansas, where he was booked into the Reno County Jail.
The Reno County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case.
The arrest marked a significant development in an investigation dating back nearly 42 years at the time Allen was taken into custody.
The trial continues in Reno County District Court.