Sheriff’s Office hopes new list will solve cold-case killings. Here are 18 victims
Bruce Douglas was reported missing from Wichita State University in November 1973. The teenager’s body was found in the trunk of his car in a farm field near Rock and 53rd North the next year.
On Sept. 1, 1984 — a hot Saturday in Wichita — Kathy Kelly was discovered shot to death in a corn field at 2500 N. West St.
A man so far known only as “John Doe” turned up dead in another field, in the 5600 block of West 47th Street South, a decade after that, on Oct. 29, 1994.
The fragmented remains of another unidentified person, this one a “Jane Doe,” were uncovered near western Sedgwick County’s Sand Creek on April, 29, 2011. Only her skull was found.
These are just four people killed in Sedgwick County since 1974 whose deaths remain unsolved.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office last month, in honor of National Crime Victim Rights Week, launched a new initiative that hopes to bring closure and justice to people whose slayings have gone cold. Some, if not all, of the cases are homicides.
So far, the Sheriff’s Office has the names of 18 victims who died under suspicious circumstances between late 1973 and the summer of 2016 on a list published online.
The roster is not a complete catalog of all unsolved deaths and slayings in Sedgwick County, the agency says. More names may be added in the future.
Investigators hope renewed attention on the old cases will encourage tipsters to come forward.
They want the mysteries solved.
“The victims have family members that certainly remember them, and we just want to give them closure,” said Lt. Benjamin Blick, a spokesman for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office.
Over the years, detectives have periodically revisited the cold cases, trying to shake loose new information.
But when investigative leads dry up, “there’s really nothing else to go on,” Blick said.
“We’re just kind of waiting for someone else to step up and say something — that they remember something or they’ve been withholding information so we can grab that torch and move with it,” he said.
Information on the Cold Case Homicide Initiative, including a spreadsheet of victim photos and case information, is posted on the Sheriff’s Office’s website at www.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriff/unsolved-homicides/.
Anyone with information about any unsolved case is asked to call detectives at 316-660-3799 or email coldcase@sedgwick.gov. They can also submit an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip at 316-267-2111 or through www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=217.
“Looking at the spreadsheet and seeing the faces ... if it just jogs their memory that they saw anything suspicious or something that they think could help law enforcement — or just if they’ve had a change of heart over the years and they didn’t know how to or they didn’t want to reach out to law enforcement — this is an avenue for them,” Blick said.
The list of victims included in the cold-case initiative roster appears below. Summaries include information from the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, The Eagle’s news archives, autopsy reports and obituaries.
National Crime Victim Rights Week started in 1981 to mark strides made in advancing legal protections for crime victims. This year, it was observed April 24-30.
Bruce Douglas, 1974
On Jan. 24, 1974, Bruce Douglas’ car was found in a farm field in the area of 53rd North and Rock Road, in northeast Sedgwick County. The 18-year-old Wichita State University freshman was found dead in the trunk of his abandoned, unlocked car. The ignition key was in the ignition in the “on” position. The trunk key was found with the body, which was fully clothed and unbound. Douglas’ parents reported him missing from the university in November 1973. Case no. B18569.
Sandra Talbott, 1977
On July 30, 1977, 27-year-old Sandra Talbott’s body was found in a tree row near 111th Street South and 231st Street West, in southwestern Sedgwick County. She was reported missing from El Dorado by her mother on July 11, 1977, a day after she disappeared from a church bingo game. The only clothing on Talbott when her remains were found were wrapped around one of her ankles. Her death was ruled a homicide. Case no. B57225.
Jerry Hunter, 1979
On May 2, 1979, Jerry Hunter’s pickup was found in a convenience store parking lot at 85th North and Meridian in Valley Center. But the 22-year-old forklift operator’s body was located in a ditch a mile away, at 85th North and Seneca. Authorities have said he was shot execution style and died from a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. His money and identification were found with his body. Case no. B80806.
Lupe Leo Ornelas, 1982
On June 25, 1982, Lupe Leo Ornelas’ blood-soaked vehicle was found near 55th South and K-15. The 33-year-old’s body was located in a nearby ditch. Authorities have said he died from three gunshot wounds to his upper left chest and left arm and that the killing might have been related to drugs. The crime scene was discovered near 55th South and Webb. Case no. C23174.
Luther Alberson, 1982
On Oct 3, 1982, Luther Alberson’s pickup was found at the corner of Ninth Street and Ohio in Wichita. The 44-year-old’s body was lying face up in a drainage ditch almost 12 miles away, near 93rd North and Hillside. Authorities have said Alberson, a private-school bus driver, told his wife he needed to get away from home, took $500 in cash from his Army pension retirement check and drove off in his truck. He was killed by a blow to the head. His money and watch were gone when his body was found. Case no. C26532.
Kathy Kelly, 1984
On September 1, 1984, Garden Plain resident Kathy Kelly’s decomposing body was located in a corn field at 2500 N. West St., just northwest of Wichita. Authorities have said her killer shot her five or six times in the head and upper body then apparently dragged her to the field several days before hunters found her. She had no identification on her, but authorities were able to tentatively ID her body by calling a phone number scrawled on a piece of paper in her pocket. Kelly was never reported missing. She was 21 or 22 when she died. Case no. C48336.
Michael Fowler, 1988
On September 14, 1988, the body of 19-year-old Michael Fowler was located in the area of 93rd North and Oliver. Authorities have said he was last seen alive driving his father’s yellow Impala from a home in Wichita where two of his friends lived. The car and some of Fowler’s belongings, including his empty wallet and car keys, were found abandoned somewhere in Park City. His death was determined to be a homicide. Case no. 88S090450.
Unknown “John Doe,” 1994
On October 29, 1994, the body of an unidentified male was found in a field at 5600 W. 47th St. South. A DNA profile done on the remains showed he was a white man, about 20 to 26 years old. But the body has never been linked to anyone. Case no. 94S101171.
Monte Dixon, 1998
Monte Dixon, 34, was last seen alive by his girlfriend on Feb. 10, 1998. Authorities have said he was fatally shot at a mobile home where the couple had been staying at 9600 E. 47th St. South during a home invasion robbery. Authorities after his death said Dixon had been shot in the head when he struggled to take a gun away from an intruder or intruders who had demanded money. He died 14 hours after the shooting after undergoing surgery. Case no. 98S020367.
Cassandra Jones, 1999
On March 31, 1999, 21-year-old Cassandra Jones’ body was found dumped in a field at 8200 E. 77th St. North, near Rock Road, in rural Sedgwick County. She had been missing from the home she shared with her mother since December 1998. Her vehicle was found abandoned at 1013 N. Estelle. Authorities have said that Jones was shot in the head. Case no. 99S031045.
Melvin Childress, 2001
On Oct. 18, 2001, the body of 22-year-old Melvin Childress was located in a field in the area of 69th North and Woodlawn, near Kechi. He was last seen when he borrowed a friend’s car that was later found abandoned in the 800 block of North Ohio. Case no. 01S010764.
Jennifer Wilson, 2002
Jennifer Wilson, who was in her twenties when she vanished, was last seen by her roommate, authorities have said. The pair lived in the area of 143rd East and 63rd South. Authorities have said Wilson and her roommate fought at a club and then their home before her disappearance. She left behind her car, all of her belongings and her dog, which she usually took everywhere, when she went missing. She has been legally declared dead, but her body has never been found. Wilson’s mother last saw her alive on Sept. 1, 2002, when she was 29, and reported her missing on March 29, 2004. Case nos. 04S003277 and 09S010718.
Gerald McGee, 2010
On January 20, 2010, baby Gerald McGee was admitted to a hospital with traumatic head injuries. He died in March of that year at seven months of age. Authorities say 16171 W. US 54 highway, near Goddard, is an important location associated with the infant’s death. Gerald’s mother was convicted of endangering her son, but to date no one has been charged specifically with causing his fatal injuries. Case no. 10S000623.
Lendell Sinclair, 2010
On May 13, 2010, deputies were dispatched to 8405 S. Ida Ave. for a welfare check. When they got there, they found 53-year-old Lendell Sinclair dead at the bottom main floor landing of a 14-step flight of carpeted stairs. He was last known alive a week earlier when he visited a local hospital’s emergency room for hip pain. Case no. 10S004828.
Unidentified “Jane Doe,” 2011
On April 29, 2011, the skull of an unidentified black female was located near Sand Creek, 10000 S. 343rd St. West, on a farm near the Ninnescah River in western Sedgwick County. After her remains were found, authorities publicized a photograph of a clay composite from the FBI that generated tips but the case went cold. Case no. 11S004626.
Aaron Matej, 2015
On June 14, 2015, deputies responded to an injury hit-and-run accident involving a pedestrian. Aaron Matej, 36, was struck in the roadway near 13th Street North and 183rd Street West near Goddard. His family says he had been at a bar with friends and was driving home when his truck got stuck in a ditch because of rain and bridge construction. So he took off walking. He was taken to a hospital after the collision but did not survive. Whoever was driving the vehicle that hit him has never been found. Case no. 15S006140.
Welly Syakhasone, 2015
On July 14, 2015, someone called 911 to report that an unknown person or persons had shot 23-year-old Welly Syakhasone in the chest at 4610 S. Brookhaven Ave. in the Oaklawn neighborhood, between the Wichita and Derby city limits. Syakhasone was transported to the hospital where he died from his injuries. Authorities have previously said they think three suspects were involved in the slaying. Case no. 15S007265.
Troy Philbrick, 2016
On June 10, 2016, 39-year-old Troy Philbrick was shot and killed by an unknown person in his home at 4204 E. Wildflower Circle in the Oaklawn neighborhood, between the Wichita and Derby city limits. He was a former diesel mechanic. Case no. 16S006280.
