John Backus of Bonner Springs was one of three defendants convicted in the 2005 killing of Robin Bell, a Tonganoxie resident, inside a Bonner Springs Dollar General store at 612 S. 130th St. Backus was the only one of the three defendants who was not a minor at the time of the murder.

In 2009, a Wyandotte County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 50 years for the murder charge, plus a consecutive term of about 53 years for the kidnapping and robbery charges.

Backus filed six contentions of trial error, but the Supreme Court reached a unanimous decision rejecting those contentions.