KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - Man Charged With Capital Murder In Teen's Death Goes To Court

Man Charged With Capital Murder In Teen's Death Goes To Court

by Cliff Judy (EL DORADO, Kan.)

The man accused of killing an El Dorado teenager back in November 2007 makes his first appearance in court.

Israel Mireles was wearing an orange jumpsuit and glasses Friday morning.  He's charged with capital murder, rape and aggravated criminal sodomy.

Police and prosecutors say Mireles killed 18-year-old Emily Sander.  Her body was found along a stretch of Highway 54 in Woodson County in November 2007.  Police caught Mireles more than a month later in Mexico.

Some of Sander's family members were in the courtroom Friday morning.  Two women bowed their heads and became emotional when Mireles walked in.

"You're wanting something to happen, and it's not happening and you get anxious," Clem Sander, Emily Sander's grandfather, said of the wait to see Mireles back in the U.S.

Sander's grandfather told Eyewitness News Friday morning was the end of a long wait that really began to take its toll on the anniversary of his granddaughter's death.

"The first year wasn't too bad," says Clem Sander, "but going into the second year seemed like it was worse than the first year.  We've talked to other people about it and they had the same experiences.  I can't understand it, but that's just the way it is."

Judge David Ricke asked Mireles if he understood the English language.  Mireles answered that he does.

Mireles says he plans to hire his own lawyer, but for now the judge appointed the Death Penalty Defense Unit in Topeka to handle his case.

Prosecutors asked the judge to increase Mireles $1 million bond to $3 million.  Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield said Mireles has already shown a history of fleeing, especially with his family helping him get to Mexico immediately after Sander's murder.

Satterfield also told the court that while Mireles was in jail in Mexico City, he told a friend he had planned an escape.  Satterfield says Mireles told the friend he planned to fake a serious illness and then escape when he was taken to a hospital outside the jail.

The judge agreed to set Mireles bond at $3 million.

Mireles' preliminary hearing is set for July 8, though prosecutors have already said they anticipate a continuance being filed by Mireles' defense attorneys since they'll have only just received the case.

If convicted, Mireles would not be eligible for the death penalty because of the U.S. extradition treaty with Mexico.