« Return to Home

Levi Boothe's death

In this section, you'll find stories about the death of Levi Booth, an 11-year-old mentally handicapped boy.

Levi's father, Raymond Boothe, is charged with first-degree murder, accused of stabbing Levi on Aug. 27, 2002, and leaving him to die on Interstate 70 about 3 miles east of Lawrence.

After leaving Levi on the turnpike, authorities contend, Boothe drove to Lawrence, where he apparently drove around for almost three hours before crashing his four-door Dodge sedan in an apparent suicide attempt at 27th Street and Lawrence Avenue. Neither he nor his three small children were seriously injured.

Levi's body was found about 9:30 p.m. on the highway after he had been struck by at least one vehicle.

Father gets 12 years for battery of his kids
Saturday, March 5, 2005
Daddy was sick that day. So say the surviving children of Raymond Boothe, who was sentenced Friday to 150 months -- or 12.5 years -- in prison for trying to injure three of them during the same 2002 incident in which a fourth child was killed.

Father pleads guilty to reduced charges
Friday, February 11, 2005
A Missouri man who stabbed his disabled son and left him to die on the Kansas Turnpike pleaded guilty Thursday to later wrecking his car in Lawrence in an attempt to kill himself, his other son and two daughters.

Area briefs
Saturday, November 20, 2004
• Trial set for father charged in car crash
• 62-year-old arrested after dispute at school
• Authorities release couple's cause of death

Father convicted of murder faces new charges
Friday, October 1, 2004
More than two years ago, Raymond D. Boothe stabbed his disabled son and left him to die on the Kansas Turnpike, then drove to southwest Lawrence and launched his car through a fence in a spectacular crash.

Attempted-murder filings surprise family
Friday, August 27, 2004
Lisa Boothe hadn't heard the news.

Child killer gets 16 years
Saturday, January 31, 2004
His voice cracking with emotion, Raymond Boothe apologized Friday for stabbing his developmentally disabled son with a pair of needle-nose pliers and leaving him for dead on the Kansas Turnpike. "I regret everything that happened that night," he said, reading from a statement he'd pulled from the left pocket of his dull blue, jail-issued trousers.

Father faces 12-year sentence for son's death
Friday, January 30, 2004
(Updated Friday at 1:55 p.m.) The Cameron, Mo., man accused in the stabbing death of his 11-year-old son near Lawrence in August 2002 now faces more than 12 years in prison.

Father pleads no contest in son's murder
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Sixteen months after his 11-year-old son's mangled body was found alongside the Kansas Turnpike, Raymond Boothe pleaded no contest Wednesday to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. "He acknowledged what he did. He made a plea offer and we accepted it," said Leavenworth County Atty. Frank Kohl, shortly after Boothe's court hearing, which lasted about 20 minutes.

6News video: Raymond Boothe pleads no contest
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Boothe plead to the lesser charge of intentional second-degree murder.

Boothe pleads no contest to intentional second-degree murder
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
(Updated Friday at 4:36 p.m.) The Cameron Missouri man accused in the stabbing death of his 11-year-old son near Lawrence in August 2002 now faces more than 12 years in prison. Raymond Boothe pled no contest to intentional second-degree murder today in Leavenworth County District Court.

Father expected to plead in son's slaying
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Raymond Boothe, a Missouri man accused of stabbing his 11-year-old son and leaving him for dead on the Kansas Turnpike, is expected to plead guilty or no contest to a charge of first-degree murder today in Leavenworth County District Court.

Dad's confession admissible in slaying
Thursday, November 13, 2003
A Missouri man's confession that he stabbed his 11-year-old developmentally disabled son and left him to die on the Kansas Turnpike last year can be used in court, a Leavenworth County judge ruled Wednesday. The ruling sets the stage for Raymond Boothe, 35, to stand trial starting Jan. 26 on a first-degree murder charge.

6News video: Boothe confession is not suppressed
Thursday, November 13, 2003
The judge in the case denied the motion to keep the confession out of the case.

Judge grants 6th delay in murder trial
Saturday, August 9, 2003
For the sixth time in 12 months, the attorney for Raymond Boothe, a Missouri man accused of stabbing his 11-year-old developmentally disabled son and leaving him to die on the Kansas Turnpike, said in court he needed more time to gather information on his client's mental competence.

Boothe undergoing competency hearing
Wednesday, July 9, 2003
(Updated Wednesday at 2:47 p.m.) A mental competency hearing for Raymond Boothe, who is charged in connection with the death of his son last summer on the Kansas Turnpike, was being held Wednesday in Leavenworth County district court.

Boothe case delayed again
Friday, May 30, 2003
(Updated Monday at 3:41 p.m.) The wait continues for the independent mental evaluation in the case of Raymond Boothe, the Cameron, Mo., man accused of first-degree murder in the death of his 11-year-old son, Levi, last August along I-70 near Lawrence.

Father pleads innocent in slaying
Saturday, May 17, 2003
A man accused of stabbing his 11-year-old son and leaving the developmentally disabled boy to die on the Kansas Turnpike pleaded innocent Friday.

6News video: Boothe enters not guilty plea
Saturday, May 17, 2003
6News reports on Raymond Boothes' arraignment.

Boothe pleads not guilty in son's slaying
Friday, May 16, 2003
(Updated Monday at 3:41 p.m.) Raymond Boothe, the Cameron, Mo., man accused of slaying his 11-year-old son last August on the Kansas Turnpike east of Lawrence, entered a not-guilty plea Friday in Leavenworth County District Court.

6News video: Boothe will stand trial
Thursday, April 17, 2003
The defendant admitted to killing his son, but his mental competency evaluation has not been completed.

Father to be tried in son's slaying
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Hours after a failed suicide attempt, Raymond Boothe told police he'd killed his disabled son because the 11-year-old was an "abomination" and had "given him the finger," a Leavenworth County detective testified Wednesday. Boothe, 34, is accused of stabbing his son Levi several times and leaving him for dead about 10:30 p.m. Aug. 27, 2002, on the Kansas Turnpike in Leavenworth County.

Turnpike slaying won't be capital case
Thursday, March 6, 2003
Leavenworth County officials on Wednesday said they would not seek the death penalty for Raymond Boothe, the Missouri man accused last year of stabbing his 11-year-old son and leaving him to die on the Kansas Turnpike near Lawrence. The case "doesn't fall under the conditions that have to be met for this to be a death penalty case," said County Atty. Frank Kohl.

6News video: Death penalty not an option for Boothe
Thursday, March 6, 2003

Father declared competent for trial
Saturday, November 16, 2002
A Missouri man accused of stabbing his 11-year-old developmentally disabled son and leaving him to die on the Kansas Turnpike is competent to stand trial, according to a report filed Friday in Leavenworth County District Court. Gary Fuller, an attorney representing Raymond Boothe, 34, contested the findings and asked Judge Frederick Stewart to approve and pay for an independent psychiatric evaluation.

6News video: Raymond Boothe will stand trial
Saturday, November 16, 2002
The accused murderer has been found competent to stand trial.

Hearing delayed in murder case
Friday, October 4, 2002
A hearing scheduled Thursday for a man charged with murdering his son did not take place because the suspect is still undergoing a mental exam. In addition, the judge hearing the case did not appear because he apparently was attending to another matter and was not in his office.

6News video: Raymond Boothe is undergoing psychiatric evaluation
Friday, October 4, 2002
Boothe, charged with murdering his son, is undergoing mental exams at Larned State Hospital.

Raymond Boothe barely recognizable to family
Thursday, September 5, 2002
The Leavenworth County Attorney's Office called Lisa Boothe Tuesday morning to let her know that on Wednesday, her husband would be sent to Larned State Hospital for a 60-day psychiatric evaluation. If she wanted to see Raymond Boothe, they told her, she needed to come right away.

6News video: Raymond Boothe's history gives clues
Thursday, September 5, 2002
Lawrence Journal-World reporter Dave Ranney has investigated the history of Raymond Boothe.

Family suspected father had mental problems
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
(Updated Monday at 3:52 p.m.) Raymond Boothe's wife says her husband's mental state was deteriorating two weeks before he left his son for dead on the Kansas Turnpike. "It's like you knew something was going on, but you didn't know what it was," Lisa Boothe said.

6News video report: Boothe charged with first-degree murder, will undergo mental evaluation
Friday, August 30, 2002
6News reports on the charges filed against Raymond Boothe. The Missouri man is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 11-year-old son.

6News video report: Douglas County SRS takes custody of Boothe children
Friday, August 30, 2002
6News reports on the current status of the three Boothe children after their father, Raymond Boothe, was taken into custody and charged in the slaying of his 11-year-old son.

Boothe charged with first-degree murder
Thursday, August 29, 2002
(Updated Monday at 3:46 p.m.) LEAVENWORTH — Raymond Boothe was charged Thursday morning with first-degree murder in Leavenworth County District Court.

Boy found dead on I-70; father jailed as suspect
Thursday, August 29, 2002
School officials in Creston, Iowa, told 11-year-old Levi Boothe's classmates their friend died in an auto accident.
The boy's body was found Tuesday night on the shoulder of Interstate 70, just east of the Douglas County-Leavenworth County line. But his death may not have been an accident.

6News video: Father jailed for the suspected murder of his child
Thursday, August 29, 2002
No one is quite certain why tragedy struck the Boothe family in the past two days.