OLATHE, Kan. — A St. Louis man has entered a plea in the fatal stabbing of a Roeland Park man more than 30 years ago.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said Geter Watson Rhymes has pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree murder in the death of Gary Watson.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office initially said Rhymes pleaded guilty, but later clarified that he pleaded no contest to the charge.
On March 13, 1985, 29-year-old Gary Watson was found dead inside of his apartment on Skyline Drive in Roeland Park, Kansas.
The case was first investigated by the Kansas City Metro Squad, a collective investigation effort of Kansas City area law enforcement agencies, but was eventually turned over to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office as the case went cold over time.
The cold case was revisited in 2020, and after reexamining evidence and conducting additional interviews, Rhymes was arrested on April 20, 2021.
Rhymes is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14.
