Wichita man charged with murder in stabbing of roommate who wouldn’t move out
A 44-year-old Wichita man arrested in his roommate’s fatal stabbing Saturday has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder.
A charging document filed Tuesday in the case against Jason Leigh McCaleb accuses him of “unlawfully, intentionally, and with premeditation” killing 28-year-old Devin Andrea Cook. He made his first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court on the count Tuesday afternoon.
Police on Monday said McCaleb and Cook verbally fought early Saturday because he wanted her to move out of his home in the 2400 block of South Washington, but she refused to go.
Officers who responded to a 911 call about McCaleb wanting her removed from the address told him that he had to use legal channels like eviction or obtaining a protective order to get her to leave because she’d “established residency there,” police previously said.
McCaleb had allowed her to live in his house for about a month. They were not in an intimate relationship, Capt. Brent Allred said Monday.
Police returned to the house at about 4:10 a.m. Saturday after the fight between McCaleb and Cook turned physical and found her fatally stabbed inside. She died at a Wichita hospital.
On Tuesday, a judge increased McCaleb’s bond from $500,000 to $700,000. He’s due back in court for his next hearing on Dec. 12, according to court records.
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 4:14 PM.
