Man accused of killing girlfriend, daughter appears in court on capital murder charge
A Wichita man charged with killing his girlfriend and their daughter appeared in court Monday afternoon on capital murder and other crimes.
Daniel Oswaldo Lopez, 25, wore an orange Sedgwick County Jail jumpsuit when he appeared over a video link broadcast into Judge Rodger Woods’ courtroom. He said nothing when the judge told him he faced capital murder, aggravated assault and criminal possession of a weapon charges associated with the March 28 shooting deaths of 24-year-old MicKayla Sorell and their 8-year-old, Natalya Sorell, according to video footage of the hearing.
Capital murder is a death-penalty eligible offense in Kansas. Lopez’s court-appointed lawyers, Tim Frieden and Gary Owens of the Death Penalty Defense Unit, declined to comment on the charges Monday afternoon.
Lopez is also accused of violating his probation in two cases from 2017 and 2018 involving weapons possession, meth possession and theft convictions.
Police found the bodies during a March 30 welfare check at a home in the 4500 block of South Walnut after MicKayla Sorell missed work. He was arrested Friday at a family home in the 4600 block of South Gold, more than a week after authorities first pleaded with the public for tips leading to his whereabouts.
Lopez is being held in the Sedgwick County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond in in the capital murder case and on a total of $500,000 bonds for the alleged probation violations.
In addition to murdering the Sorells, an April 2 probation violation warrant alleges Lopez forced someone at gunpoint to drive him around on March 28, court records show. His next court date is May 7.
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 4:21 PM.
