Colorado authorities now have to decide when they will pursue murder charges against Emporia man Phillip Lieurance after a Lyon County extradition case was dismissed Thursday.
Prosecutors asked for the dismissal with Lieurance now in Department of Corrections custody in El Dorado following convictions and sentencing in Lyon County for aggravated battery and aggravated battery DUI last week — charges stemming from an incident on the Kansas Turnpike in September where Lieurance rammed his SUV into at least one other vehicle.
The extradition case has focused on accusations Lieurance murdered two Emporia women, Linda Estrada and Amy Ford, around the time of the Turnpike incident. Both women were listed as missing for several days before their remains were found near Eads, Colorado.
At this time, it is unclear whether Colorado authorities will seek to prosecute Lieurance now or whether they will wait until Lieurance finishes his aggravated battery sentences. Lieurance was sentenced to 52 months total in those cases.
It is also unclear if the Colorado charge list, if filed, will mirror the extradition paperwork in Lyon County until the case was dismissed. Court documents filed locally had accused Lieurance of what Colorado calls Class 2 murder, tampering with a deceased body and unlawfully leaving Colorado after the deaths of Estrada and Ford. Colorado state law says defendants must appear before a judge for them to be officially charged with criminal activity. Kiowa County officials say these cases are handled on a case-by-case basis — and may involve the governors from both states agreeing to a warrant to move the court process along.
