Man arrested in connection to south Wichita killing; weed trimmer examined for blood
A 45-year-old man was booked into Sedgwick County Jail on Friday in connection to a 2019 killing where a man was found dead inside his south Wichita home and a manual weed trimmer with “dark red material” on the blades was examined for blood.
On Friday, Ricky Chavez Price Jr. was booked into the jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, theft and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon. Price was moved from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility jail on Friday for a court appearance, Kansas Department of Corrections records show. Although, court documents do not show that Price has been charged in connection to the death of 73-year-old Raymond Koob Jr.
On Nov. 3, Koob was found dead on a recliner in his living room in the 1300 block of South Greenwood, near Hydraulic and Southeast Boulevard. A 52-year-old woman who sometimes takes Koob to Sunday church service discovered him dead inside his house around 5:15 p.m. The woman went to the home earlier in the day, but he didn’t answer the door. She went back to check on Koob, police said.
Koob had several cuts on his body and face, including an “irregularly shaped injury” in the shape of an inverted “T” above his left eyebrow. It’s likely two or three overlapping cuts that measure 1.5 inches in length, according to his autopsy filed Jan. 9.
A Seymour S500 Industrial weed trimmer that was examined was also mentioned in Koob’s autopsy.
The examiner at the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center noted the red material on the blades was “consistent with blood.”
“In my opinion Raymond Koob died as a result of multiple blunt and sharp force injuries,” the autopsy says, noting that Koob also had a cardiovascular disease that could have obstructed blood flow. “The manner of death is homicide.”
Price has five convictions dating back to 1993 for aggravated robbery, burglary, theft, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon. All of the convictions happened in Sedgwick County, according to Corrections records.
Price has 24 disciplinary reports in prison, including disobeying orders on Jan. 19. Price last got out of prison in 2015. He was back in prison in late 2019, records show.
Koob’s death was the second at that address in 2019.
In May, 50-year-old William “Billy” Callison’s mutilated body was found wrapped in clothing in a camper parked in Koob’s driveway. According to court records, Koob had let the suspects in that case, Callison’s former stepdaughter Micalea Spencer and her boyfriend Thomas Royce, park the camper at his home for a few days and gave them permission to use his shower and bathroom.
Police later found Callison dead inside, covered in stab wounds. Court records say his killing was part of a meth-fueled revenge plot over childhood sexual abuse Spencer allegedly endured at his hands.
Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker of The Eagle