Kansas City, MO. -- A Kansas city-area man has been charged with killing two prostitutes whose bodies were found posed on the side of rural Missouri roads nearly a year apart.

Authorities announced Saturday that 27-year-old Derek Richardson faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abandonment of a corpse. His bail is set at $2 million. It wasn't immediately known whether he has an attorney.

Kansas City police said earlier this month that the deaths of 40-year-old Tamara Sparks and 24-year-old Nicolene Reed were linked and asked the public for help.

Acting on a tip, police took Richardson into custody Saturday.

Sparks was found dead in October 2011, on the far northeast side of Kansas City. Reed was found Aug. 21 in rural Kearny, northeast of Kansas City.

AP