Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office identifies body found in SUV on Christmas Eve

The man found dead in his SUV in the 5100 block of North Hydraulic on Christmas Eve was identified Monday as 42-year-old Moises Arias-Aranda of Wichita.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help to find his killer.

During a news conference Monday, sheriff’s Capt. Greg Pollock said a Park City police officer discovered Arias-Aranda’s body inside a 1994 maroon four-door Ford Explorer at 6:44 p.m. Dec. 24 after he noticed the parked vehicle.

A coroner who performed Arias-Aranda’s autopsy over the weekend gave his preliminary cause of death as a stab wound.

Authorities had no suspects and no leads in the case as of Monday morning, Pollock said. He is asking anyone who traveled through the 5100 block of North Hydraulic between 9 p.m. on Dec. 23 and 1 a.m. on Dec. 24 to contact the sheriff’s office.

Authorities also want to talk to anyone who might have seen the SUV parked alongside Hydraulic before 1 a.m. on Dec. 24.

“Someone in the Wichita-Sedgwick County area knows what happened to Mr. Aranda, and we need that person to pick the phone up and speak with us,” Pollock said.

Tipsters can call the sheriff’s office investigations unit at 316-660-5300 to speak to a detective. They’re available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tipsters who want to remain anonymous can contact Wichita-Sedgwick County Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or 800-222-TIPS (8477). Tips also can be left online at www.wichitasedgwickcountycrimestoppers.com or by text messaging “TIP217” and the tip to CRIMES (274637).

If a Crime Stoppers tip leads to an arrest, the tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,500.

Pollock would not disclose further information about Arias-Aranda’s wounds – including the number and where he received them on his body – nor say whether he was killed where he was found. He said investigators found clues with the body that indicate the killer’s possible motive but refused to give specifics.

“I have a responsibility to the district attorney’s office to preserve information in the case. I’m balancing the need to share information with the public,” Pollock said.

“So there are details I just cannot release at this time.”

Pollock said it is unclear how long the Ford Explorer was parked before the officer found it. Others had made reports about it before Arias-Aranda’s body was found, he said.

Arias-Aranda had not been reported missing. Pollock said his family is out of the country on vacation and had not yet returned.

The death is the third homicide investigated by the sheriff’s office in 2015. As of Monday, there had been 35 homicides countywide.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office identifies body found in SUV on Christmas Eve."