Sarah Bruey

Jarod Bruey

Sumner Newscow report — The preliminary hearings for Jarod Bruey, 42, of Caldwell, and his wife Sarah Bruey, 41, also of Caldwell have been rescheduled for August 31 at the Sumner County Courthouse.

A preliminary hearing is a proceeding after a criminal complaint has been filed by a prosecutor to determine whether there is enough evidence to require a trial. 

The Brueys have both been charged with murder in the first degree (a felony murder rule). They have also been charged with aggravated endangering a child, also a felony (see story here).

Sumner County Attorney Larry Marczynski has formally charged the couple in connection to an accidental shooting in which a 12-year-old juvenile accidentally shot her 12-year-old stepsister in the face, west of Caldwell using a Hi-Standard 9-shot .22 revolver.

What makes this case rather unusual is prosecutor Marczynski has invoked the felony murder rule allowing the defendant to be charged with first-degree murder for a killing that they were not directly involved. The prosecution is saying it was their actions that led to the accidental shooting and deliberately caused what a Sedgwick County Forensic Center autopsy described as a homicide.