Governor’s Warrant used to extradite accused killer, kidnapper back to Kansas

Context: The attached video initially aired on Saturday, Aug. 30.

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay is releasing new information following the successful extradition of a man accused of killing two people and kidnapping a child in Topeka.

Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay told 27 News that 32-year-old Christopher K. W. Barnshaw is now booked in the Shawnee County Department of Corrections after he was extradited from Coles County, Illinois. Barnshaw arrived at the correctional facility at 2:35 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30.

“Barnshaw had previously refused to waive extradition, and we obtained a Governor’s Warrant to secure his return to Kansas,” Kagay said. “He will now face the charges filed in Shawnee County District Court.”

Kagay said that when someone is wanted for criminal charges in Kansas but is arrested in another state and refuses to return voluntarily, prosecutors need to request a Governor’s Warrant to successfully extradite the individual. He said the process involves sending a legal demand to the governor of the state where the individual is being held, asking for them to be returned.

“If approved, the other state’s governor signs the warrant, authorizing law enforcement to transfer custody and return the individual to Kansas to face charges,” Kagay said. “This process is governed by the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, which is in effect in both Kansas and most other states.”

Barnshaw is currently scheduled for a court date at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 11. He is being held on a $10,000,000 bond and is charged with the following crimes:

• Two charges of murder in the first degree.
• Aggravated burglary of a dwelling.
• Aggravated endangering of a child.
• Kidnapping.

Barnshaw is accused of killing two relatives, 55-year-old Sean E. Thornton and 29-year-old Ashley T. Brown, and kidnapping Brown’s two-year-old child in July. Police in Mattoon, Illinois arrested Barnshaw and recovered the child on July 22.

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