Probation Denied For Alleged Slayer
ABILENE, KS – To no one’s surprise, Joseph Brigman’s application for probation on a burglary charge was denied Monday in Dickinson County District Court by Judge William D. Clement.
In the time between when Brigman was returned from the Kansas State Reformatory in Hutchinson for his probation hearing, and when he appeared before Judge Clement, new charges had been filed accusing him of the Aug. 29 murders of a Tampa couple.
Count one of the petition alleges Brigman committed the premeditated murder of Dennis Armstrong, 31. Count two alleges premeditated murder of Evelyn Armstrong, 28.
The Armstrongs’ bodies were found by their 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter when the children returned home from their first day of school last fall. Another daughter, 2, was found unharmed in another room. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong were seated on a living room couch. They had been shot several times, each at least once in the head, with a .22 caliber weapon. The Salina Journal, Salina, Kansas. Tuesday, February 7, 1978. Page 12.
Preliminary Hearing Set In Marion County Murder
The hearings for Brigman and Keffeler, two of four persons charged with the Aug. 29, 1977, murders of Dennis Armstrong, 31, and his wife, Evelyn, 28, Tampa, were continued for a month. They had been scheduled for last week.
Brigman and Keffeler also had undergone evaluations and were ruled competent last June. They remain in jail in lieu of bonds set at $100,000 for Brigman and $250,000 for Keffeler.
The bodies of the Tampa couple were found in the living room of their home almost a year ago by their children when the youngsters returned home from school.
Also charged are Terry Dwaine Allen, 33, Boulder, Colo., and his wife, Carol, 30. The Allens, in custody in lieu of $75,000 bonds, are fighting extradition from Colorado. An extradition hearing had been set for earlier this month, but was continued. Johnson said he had not been informed of a new date. The Salina Journal, Salina, Kansas. Tuesday, July 25, 1978. Page 36. © Transcribed by Darren McMannis for Kansas Old News.