Wichita man convicted of killing wife in 2018 found dead at Hutchinson prison
A Wichita man who was convicted and sentenced to jail for the murder of his estranged wife in July 2018 died Wednesday at the correctional facility where he was serving his sentence, according to a news release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Juan Caballeros-Yescas, 30, of Wichita, was found unresponsive at his cell at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility. Staff treated him until emergency medical staff arrived, when he was pronounced dead, the news release said.
An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of death. Prison officials did not say if his death was considered suspicious. They said it was not COVID-19 related.
Caballeros-Yescas was sentenced to over 20 years in prison in August 2022 for the murder of his wife, 41-year-old Lucy Mojica of Wichita. The couple’s marriage had fallen apart in 2018, according to previous Eagle reporting.
The fatal shooting took place at the couple’s home at 531 W. 17th St. near Wichita North High School.
An affidavit said Caballeros-Yescas threatened to kill Mojica if they weren’t together and admitted to friends, family and a girlfriend that “he’d pull the trigger,” an arrest affidavit by the court says.
The day of the shooting, Mojica had been at the house where she and Caballeros-Yescas used to live together. He had moved out a month before the shooting, the affidavit said.
Mojica and a friend were in a bedroom of the home talking when Mojica stepped out to take a call from Caballeros-Yescas. Mojica’s friend said he heard the sound of a gun being loaded and moments later multiple shots being fired, the affidavit said.
The friend hid in the closet until he heard a car speed away. He emerged and found Mojica lying face down in a pool of blood, the affidavit said.
Nearly two years later, authorities arrested Caballeros-Yescas in El Paso, Texas in May 2020.
Caballeros-Yescas was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the KDOC news release said.