Killings of girlfriend, daughter lead to murder charge against Wichita man on the run

A Wichita man has been charged with murder in connection with the domestic violence shooting deaths of his girlfriend and daughter last week, police said.

Officer Paul Cruz said in a news release that Daniel Oswaldo Lopez was charged in Sedgwick County District Court with capital murder, criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated assault.

No charging document or arrest warrant for the murder case were publicly available through the court system Sunday afternoon. However, court documents from a separate case allege Lopez killed his family two days before their bodies were found.

Lopez, who is not in custody, is wanted in connection with the shooting deaths of his girlfriend MicKayla Sorell, 24, and their daughter Natalya Sorell, 8. Police were called March 30 to check the welfare of the woman after she did not show up to work. Officers found their bodies in a home in the 4500 block of South Walnut.

A probation violation warrant filed last week alleges the slaying happened on March 28, and that Lopez forced someone to drive him around at gunpoint.

Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Lopez to call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111. Kansas Department of Corrections records list Lopez as a 25-year-old man who is 5-foot-8, 155 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.

Lopez has prior convictions in Sedgwick County, including drug charges, a weapons violation, and for theft and forgery, according to KDOC records. Community corrections last listed him as under intensive supervision. District court records show he was on probation at the time his family was shot and killed.

A judge on Thursday issued a probation-violation arrest warrant for Lopez, court records from a 2018 case for methamphetamine and weapon possession show. A supervision officer alleged that Lopez committed two counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths of his girlfriend and daughter. The officer also alleged that, on the same day, Lopez committed aggravated kidnapping and criminal possession of a firearm.

A police case connected with the gun and kidnapping allegations states that a 25-year-old victim told police that Lopez forced him to drive around south Wichita at gunpoint. The police report wasn’t filed until the day after MicKayla and Natalya Sorell were found dead.

This story was originally published April 5, 2020 at 2:36 PM.