OLATHE, Kan. — The killer who murdered a Johnson County man nearly 40 years ago will spend years behind bars. A Johnson County judge sentenced 67-year-old Geter Rhymes, of St. Louis, to a prison term of 7 to 20 years for his role in the 1985 stabbing death of Gary Watson. Rhymes pleaded no contest to charges earlier this year.
On March 13, 1985, 29-year-old Gary Watson was found dead inside of his apartment on Skyline Drive in Roeland Park, Kansas. Court documents show Watson’s 8-year-old son found his body. Watson was face down in the living room with a knife sticking out of his back. Autopsy results later determined Watson died of a stab wound to the chest, which penetrated his heart. The stab wound to his back took place after he died.
The case went cold shortly after Watson’s death. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the cold case in 2020.
They reexamined evidence at the crime scene and interviewed witnesses. Experts determined fingerprints found at the scene belonged to Rhymes and another man.
Rhymes was arrested on April 20, 2021.
Experts determined another set of fingerprints from the crime scene belonged to Ricky Davis, who is now deceased.