Man found dead in Wichita alley was stabbed after woman got mad, police say

Police have arrested and jailed a 34-year-old woman on suspicion of first-degree intentional, premeditated murder in connection with a body found in an alley Tuesday afternoon in southeast Wichita.

Latoya Annette McCurn was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail at 8:44 p.m. on Tuesday, an online log of jail inmates shows. Authorities say she was recently released from a prison in Texas after serving a sentence for arson-related charges and has a lengthy criminal history there.

Police on Tuesday evening said the body was found by a resident walking through an alley behind an east Wichita business. That person called 911 because they feared the victim had been shot, police said in a Wednesday news release.

Jail booking records show McCurn was taken into custody in the area, in the 7800 block of East Harry.

Police on Wednesday said McCurn apparently stabbed the victim “after he upset her.”

But it wasn’t immediately clear what she may have been mad about.

Police think the two were strangers, department spokesman Officer Trevor Macy said Wednesday.

The victim, identified as 49-year-old Hung Nguyen of Wichita, appears to have been in the alley for some time before his body was found, Henderson said.

Nguyen’s death is Wichita’s 26th criminal homicide of the year. There have been 33 homicides overall since Jan. 1, Macy said — including two that were deemed accidental and five killings that police say were justified.

This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 7:25 PM.