Kansas man serving life for murder of Prairie Village teenager up for parole

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (KCTV) - A former school janitor convicted of killing a Prairie Village teenager is up for parole.

According to an online schedule published by the Kansas Department of Corrections, the parole board held a public comment hearing for John Henry Horton Wednesday morning.

Horton’s parole hearing is scheduled to take place next month. If the board grants Horton parole, the Department of Corrections says he could become eligible for release as soon as November 2023.

A jury convicted Horton of killing 13 year-old Lizabeth Wilson. The teenager disappeared in July 1974, as she walked home from the Prairie Village swimming pool. Her remains were later found in Lenexa.

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In 2003, prosecutors charged Horton with first-degree murder in Wilson’s death. Court documents showed Horton used chloroform to drug Wilson so he could sexually assault her.

A jury convicted Horton. He was sentenced to life in prison. The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the conviction a decade later.

This is Horton’s second chance at being granted parole. His first came in 2018. The Kansas Parole Board denied his request and ordered he serve five more years before his next chance at parole.