Court rejects appeal of Wichita woman convicted in beheading

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Wichita woman who was convicted of decapitating her ex-boyfriend’s mother in 2017. Forty-year-old Rachael Hilyard was convicted in 2020 of first-degree murder in the death of 63-year-old Micki Davis at a Wichita home. Hilyard admitted that she killed Davis but argued in her appeal that the killing was not premeditated and was based on insufficient evidence and ineffective counsel. She also argued she should not have been sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 50 years. The state Supreme Court on Friday rejected the appeal and upheld her conviction and sentence.