Two males, 19 and 17, arrested in couple’s deaths on South Ida

Wichita police have arrested two teenagers on suspicion of murder in the deaths of a couple found in their home last week with multiple gunshot wounds, an official said Tuesday.

Robbery appears to be the motive, and investigators don’t think it was a random crime, police Lt. Todd Ojile said. Police believe one of the suspects knew the couple’s 33-year-old son, who found the bodies of his parents, Godofredo Moreno, 72, and Martha Moreno, 71. They were found on a bedroom floor and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have said that the Morenos’ bodies were found midmorning Thursday with what initially appeared to be multiple stab wounds. But investigators determined from autopsies that they had been shot rather than stabbed, Ojile said.

Police don’t expect more arrests, he said.

Moreno family members gathered at the couple’s home Tuesday to contemplate what had happened, said a relative, who asked not to be named because of safety concerns.

“If robbery was the motive,” the relative said, “why did they have to shoot them?”

Godofredo Moreno was fighting cancer but still enjoying life and attending his grandchildren’s sporting events, the relative said. “The grandchildren were the love of their life.”

One of the people arrested Monday afternoon is 19, the other 17, Ojile said. Police arrested the 19-year-old male in the 1300 block of South Ida, about seven blocks from the homicide scene, in the 600 block of South Ida. They arrested the 17-year-old male in the 1500 block of South Water.

The suspects have known each other for several years, and both have criminal records, including violent crimes, Ojile said.

The 19-year-old, identified in jail and arrest records as Steven Wade Edwards II, is on probation after being sentenced in July for a robbery.

Edwards has been under the highest level of probation supervision; he has had to report to a probation officer at least once a week, said Mark Masterson, director of the Sedgwick County Department of Corrections.

On the day of the double homicide, this past Thursday, Edwards reported to his probation officer at 4:25 p.m., Masterson said. The discovery of the bodies had been reported to police between five and six hours earlier that day. Edwards last reported to his probation officer at 3:30 p.m. Monday, before probation officials found out that he was a suspect in the double homicide, Masterson said.

While on probation, Edwards has struggled to get identification papers and land a job, Masterson said. He was living on South Ida with his brother. In a February 2013 affidavit that Edwards filled out in applying for a court-appointed attorney, he said he had worked at various fast-food restaurants and that he had an infant daughter.

Jail records show that Edwards was being held on suspicion of two counts of first-degree intentional murder and one count each of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, criminal possession of a firearm, aggravated kidnapping and a probation violation. He was being held on a $1 million bond.

The 17-year-old is being held in a juvenile detention facility. Ojile would not name the 17-year-old.

A police officer received a tip early Monday morning that the two suspects might have been involved, and that tip was forwarded to homicide investigators, Ojile said. Investigators interviewed at least 20 people and conducted interviews through the day Monday leading up to the arrests.

Police plan to present their case to prosecutors, for determination of possible charges, Wednesday or Thursday at the latest, Ojile said. It would be up to prosecutors whether to charge the 17-year-old as an adult.

Police think the suspects took the couple’s car at the time of the killings, he said. The SUV was found engulfed in flames in southwest Sedgwick County, in the 13000 block of South West Street, Ojile said.

Previous charges

In July, a Sedgwick County judge sentenced Edwards for a robbery that occurred on Feb. 20, 2013, records show. According to the charge filed in court, Edwards took a cellphone and “Pizza Hut food” from a woman in a forceful or threatening way.

After Edwards pleaded guilty to robbery this past July, he was facing a “presumptive prison” sentence ranging from 41 to 47 months, says a document in his court file. Although he received a prison term of 44 months, District Judge Gregory Waller granted him three years of probation, allowing him to stay in the community under supervision, court documents show. A presumptive prison sentence refers to instances where state law mandates imprisonment unless a judge finds there are exceptions under the law.

In Sedgwick County, it is not uncommon for someone facing a “presumptive prison” sentence to get probation instead, said Masterson, the director of the county’s Department of Corrections.

A court document signed by Waller noted Edwards’ age – he was 18 at the time of the robbery – as one of the factors considered in giving him probation.

Contacted on Tuesday, Waller said, “I would still stand by the findings made” at the sentencing. The judge also noted that Edwards’ only felony convictions as a juvenile occurred when he was 11. According to Edwards’ criminal history listed in a pre-sentencing document, he had been convicted as a juvenile of burglary of a non-residence and theft, both felonies and both in 2006 when Edwards was 11.

Edwards also had been convicted as a juvenile between 2007 and 2013 of multiple misdemeanors, including theft, battery and temporary criminal deprivation of a vehicle, the pre-sentencing document says.

At the time of his July sentencing in the robbery case, he had spent the previous 511 days in the Sedgwick County Jail.

Contributing: Stan Finger, Deb Gruver and Jaime Green of The Wichita Eagle

This story was originally published October 21, 2014 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Two males, 19 and 17, arrested in couple’s deaths on South Ida."