Double Life, Double Murder - Newton, Kansas

The Murder of Rhonda Creel

• 💡 Rhonda Creel, a respected stay-at-home mom in Newton, Kansas, was found brutally murdered in her home.
• 📌 Her 6-year-old daughter, Natalie, and a friend were hidden in a closet during the attack and heard loud thuds.
• 🔍 Natalie described the killer as a tall, thin man wearing a red baseball cap with a "Jesus fish" symbol and aviator sunglasses.
• 🧩 Key evidence at the scene included cigarette butts found outside the living room window and the killer's aviator sunglasses inside the house.

Initial Investigation & Suspects

• ⚠️ Rhonda's cousin, Kevin, who discovered the crime scene, became an initial suspect due to suspicious statements during interrogation, including calling Rhonda "sexy."
• ✅ However, Natalie confirmed the killer was not Kevin, as she did not recognize the man who entered their home.
• 🔬 Early DNA technology in 1994 limited evidence, making the sunglasses the primary physical lead, but no usable fingerprints were found.

A Second Victim Emerges

• 🗓️ Over a year later, in September 1995, Jodie Macau disappeared from Wichita, and her friend provided a license plate number from the car she entered.
• 🕵️ The license plate led police to "Matthew Murphy," who was actually Chester Higinbotham, living a double life with a stolen identity.
• 💬 Chester was identified as the waiter who had a public argument with Rhonda Creel at the Newton Inn about a bill, where he expressed extreme rage.

Connecting the Crimes

• 🚨 Jodie's body was later found hog-tied, gagged, and beaten, with nylon rope and tape matching items in Chester's storage shed.
• 🔗 The method of murder was nearly identical to Rhonda's, leading Detective Walton to connect the two seemingly unrelated cases.
• 🗣️ Chester's wife, Vicki, revealed his true identity and confirmed he wore aviator sunglasses and a red hat, also noting he had a swollen eye after Rhonda's murder.

Conviction and Motive

• 🧬 DNA evidence from the sunglasses conclusively linked Chester Higinbotham to Rhonda's murder, with a 1 in 5.5 billion match.
• ⚖️ Chester was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and kidnapping for both Rhonda and Jodie, receiving a "hard 40" sentence for each.
• 🧠 Psychological reports indicated an antisocial personality disorder stemming from a severely abusive childhood, including being locked in closets for extended periods.