Suspect in Topeka's 35th murder of 2023 gets life in prison
TOPEKA (KSNT) - A Shawnee County judge sentenced a Topeka man to life in prison after he admitted to the city's 35th murder of 2023.
In September, Jordan Reynolds-Taylor pleaded guilty to murder in the first degree during the commission of a felony for the killing of Tammie Hanson, 59, at Tyler Towers in central Topeka. On Monday, Oct. 7, a judge sentenced Reynolds-Taylor to life in prison.
On Jan. 1, 2024, officers with the Topeka Police Department responded to an apartment at 600 SW 14th Street for a welfare check on Hanson. According to an affidavit obtained by 27 News, officers entered the apartment and found Hanson dead, the victim of an apparent knife attack. She died days before her body was discovered.
Police said surveillance footage from the apartment complex showed a man matching Reynolds-Taylor's description entering Hanson's apartment. The suspect later returned with his face covered and wearing blue gloves. He was the last person in the apartment before police discovered Hanson's body, according to court documents.
Police were able to use the surveillance video and statements from neighbors to identify Reynolds-Taylor as the suspect. He was already in jail on an unrelated case.
During a search of Reynolds-Taylor's home, police found a stained hooded sweatshirt that tested positive for human blood. Police noted the surveillance video showed Reynolds appeared to be wearing that same sweatshirt during his visit to Hanson's apartment.
In an interview with detectives, Reynolds admitted it was him in the surveillance video. He told them he liked to take care of old people and Hanson was one of several he visited frequently. At the time of his interview with police, he had a cut on his hand that was scabbed over and healing.
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