In the summer of 2014, a quiet street in Lenexa, Missouri, became the scene of a brutal and calculated crime that ended the lives of two men. Brian Stuart Baskind, a 47-year-old male, and his 79-year-old stepfather, Clifford Preston, were found stabbed to death in the basement of their home on Hallet Street on July 9, 2014. The tragic event unfolded when a man, later identified as Alex Wayne Brune, then 29, targeted Baskind, following him home after seeing him driving his Mercedes-Benz
convertible.
Experiencing financial difficulties, Brune had planned to commit a robbery. Dressed in black, wearing a mask, and armed with a large knife and an airsoft gun painted to resemble a real firearm, he broke into the home by cutting a window screen, fully aware that people were inside. A violent struggle ensued in the basement of the residence, during which both Baskind and Preston were fatally stabbed. In the course of the altercation, one of the victims managed to shoot Brune.
After being shot, Brune called 911 and was discovered by Lenexa police on the front lawn of the home. Inside, officers found the bodies of Baskind and Preston. Initially, Brune attempted to deceive investigators with a fabricated story of being kidnapped from his own home and taken to the Hallet Street residence. He claimed that he was forced into the basement, where he found a knife and stabbed both men in an attempt to escape, alleging he was shot during the struggle.
However, as the investigation progressed and on the verge of his trial, Brune abandoned his false narrative. He ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. In August 2016, a Johnson County District Court judge sentenced Alex Wayne Brune to two consecutive life sentences. This sentence requires him to serve a minimum of 50 years in prison before he becomes eligible for parole. The court highlighted the particularly brutal nature of the killings and Brune's initial attempts to wrongfully portray his victims as the aggressors.
