Convicted murderer charged with killing girlfriend on Christmas Eve in Wichita

A convicted murderer is charged with the Christmas Eve killing of a Wichita woman whose body was found in the trunk of her car after the holiday.

Ahmad Khaasanouva Bey, 39, was charged Tuesday in Sedgwick County District Court with first-degree murder in the Dec. 24 death of 41-year-old Melinda K. Sprague. The two were in a dating relationship, Wichita police have said, and prosecutors allege the killing was domestic violence.

Bey is also charged with criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

A coworker reported Sprague missing when she didn’t show up to work on Christmas Eve. Police found her car behind a business near Harry and Hydraulic two days later. Her body was in the trunk of the car.

Bey was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder in Crawford County, Kansas Department of Corrections records show. He was released on parole in July 2019 after spending about 20 years in prison.

He remains in the Sedgwick County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail on the murder charge.

In a separate court case, Bey is charged with two counts of an offender registration violation for allegedly failing to register with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office in August and October. That case was also filed Tuesday. He has an additional $100,000 bail set in that case.

Also arrested in the murder case was Vanessa Lynne Waner, 34. Prosecutors charged her with interference with law enforcement by concealing, destroying or altering evidence of a murder. She is jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail.

This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 6:22 PM.