Kansas Teen Gets Life Sentence for His Role in Death of Friend's Mother

A Topeka teen has been sentenced for his role in the death of his friend's mom, who was killed back in 2021, according to KSNT.

According to Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay, Amadeus Courage Ballou-Meyer was sentenced to life imprisonment. Ballou-Meyer must serve at least 50 years before he is deemed eligible for parole. Ballou-Meyer pled guilty earlier this year to premeditated murder in the first degree.

Law enforcement responded to 2843 SW James Street on April 24, 2021, when a caller reported that his mom was dead. Officers found the body of Hester Workman upon arrival at the crime scene. She was lying in the attached garage.

Workman suffered severe trauma to her head

The one who called law enforcement was Workman's 16-year-old son. He found his mother when he and his friend arrived at the home. Workman suffered from severe trauma to her head and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Police officers conducted a neighborhood canvas over the next few days and collected surveillance videos from neighboring residences. According to their investigation, just before Workman's son arrived at the home, cameras captured, and neighbors saw a juvenile man running from the house, holding a baseball bat.

The police investigation led to the identification and arrest of 16-year-old Ballou-Meyer, a friend of Workman's son. After the teen was arrested, he confessed to sneaking into Workman's house, where he tried to scare the victim by pushing her as Workman came up the steps from the garage and into the residence.

Ballou-Meyer tried as an adult

Workman hit her head after falling backward. Ballou-Meyer confessed that he panicked after Workman's fall. He said that he picked up a baseball bat and started hitting Workman with it. He then fled the scene before throwing the bat into Shunga Creek. The bat used in the killing was recovered by a civilian and turned over to the cops.

Due to Ballou-Meyer's age, the DA said he was charged as a juvenile, but he was able to obtain authorization to prosecute the teen as an adult. He pleaded guilty to premeditated murder in the first degree back in July.

Judge Darian Dernovish said in court that he does not like waiving juveniles to adult status, but the law is the law. He told Amadeus Ballou-Meyer that he needed to pay the price, WIBW reported.

Dernovish considered eight factors when deciding if Ballou-Meyer needed to be prosecuted as an adult for Workman's death. The factors include the crimes' sophistication, the defendant's previous behavior, and the offense's seriousness. All eight factors were ruled in favor of the prosecution.

Kagay said that when they come across something that merits a first-degree murder charge, as they have in this case, they will always seek to prosecute the individual as an adult, which is what they have done here.