Private Legal Council Hired to Prosecute a Sheriff Killer in Kansas

The families of two Kansas sheriff’s deputies who were overpowered by an inmate and killed have hired legal counsel to help prosecutors.

Husband-and-wife law partners, Tom and Tricia Bath, were retained to assist the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office in the prosecution of 30-year-old Antoine Fielder. He is charged with capital murder in the deaths of Theresa King and Patrick Rohrer last June. In Kansas, the intentional, premeditated killing of a single law enforcement officer is eligible for the death penalty.

Attorneys for Fielder have indicated they will oppose the Baths’ participation in the case. Though rarely done, Kansas law allows for crime victims to pay private attorneys to assist county prosecutors, who are required to recognize them as associate counsel.