HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Reno County jury on Friday convicted Jerry L. Allen of first-degree murder and conspiracy in connection with the 1982 shooting death of Michael McKeown.
Allen was found guilty of intentional, premeditated first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit intentional, premeditated first-degree murder, according to the Reno County District Attorney’s Office.
The charges stem from McKeown’s death between March 23 and March 24, 1982. McKeown was found the morning of March 24 inside his vehicle behind his residence at 320 Sherman in Hutchinson. He had been shot three times.
The case remained unsolved for more than four decades before authorities reopened the investigation. Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Allen in 2024, and the case was referred to the Reno County District Attorney’s Office, which later filed charges.
The district attorney’s office credited the Hutchinson Police Department and KBI for their work in reopening and investigating the cold case.