Jury finds Wichita man guilty of first-degree murder in November killing
A Sedgwick County jury on Tuesday convicted a Wichita man of first-degree murder, burglary and misdemeanor theft in the Nov. 24 death of a 41-year-old man whose body was discovered in rural Sumner County, according to a tweet and follow-up email from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
Saul C. Valenciana, 32, is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 18. Jurors found him guilty in the killing of Brent Boone of Wichita, who died of “sharp force injuries to the neck,” his autopsy report says. Boone’s body was found on the ground near a ravine about 5 miles southwest of Clearwater, 25 miles from his Wichita home, on Dec. 2 — several days after his father dropped him off at his home after Thanksgiving dinner.
Boone’s father reported him missing on Nov. 29 after he couldn’t reach him, according to a probable cause affidavit released in the case.
Wichita police have said Boone was killed in a fight after he got into a car with Valenciana and a woman, Tehya K. Turner, at his home in the 1300 block of North Pershing. The car was found abandoned near 21st and Ridge on Dec. 1, according to an Eagle report.
Valenciana was arrested on Dec. 15 after a multi-hour standoff at an apartment in southeast Wichita, near Harry and Parkwood, The Eagle previously reported. He pleaded not guilty to the murder, burglary and theft charges on Jan. 31.
A criminal case filed against Turner, 19, is pending. She’s charged with first-degree murder, burglary and theft and remains in the Sedgwick County Jail on $1 million bond, court and booking records show. DA’s Office spokesman Dan Dillon said Turner is scheduled for a bench trial “in the near future,” but he didn’t know the hearing date yet.
Valenciana’s trial started last week, on June 20. Sedgwick County District Judge Jeffrey Goering presided.
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This story was originally published June 27, 2023 at 11:28 AM.
CORRECTION: A tweet quoted in a previous version of this story gave an incorrect sentencing date for Saul Valenciana. He is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 18.
