Wichita man convicted in two 1970s killings has been arrested in shootings of three
A 71-year-old Wichita man on parole, who fatally stabbed an inmate in 1979 while serving a sentence for second-degree murder, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the shootings of three people within a 27-hour span, according to police and records.
Samuel Lee Neal was arrested just hours after police put out a news advisory asking for the public’s help in finding him. He was arrested on suspicion of three counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated assault, one count of criminal damage to property and parole violation, records show.
When asked what led to Neal’s arrest, police spokesperson Juan Rebolledo said: “Good old fashion police work.” Rebolledo said Neal was arrested in the 1200 block of South Palisade, about a mile from two shootings earlier this week.
Rebolledo said Neal is the suspect in a shooting around 9:45 p.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of South Emporia that left a 32-year-old woman and 36-year-old man seriously injured — the woman shot in the right upper leg and right upper arm and the man in the left upper leg. Both are expected to survive.
He is also suspected in the shooting of a 21-year-old man who was hit multiple times around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday in the 1100 block of South Emporia. He was sitting in his car in that block when he was shot in the right upper chest and right ankle, Rebolledo said. He is expected to survive.
Neal lives in the same block where the shooting Tuesday morning was reported, records show.
Neal has spent years in Kansas prisons.
In June 1979, Neal arrived at Lansing Correctional Facility while serving a 55-year second-degree murder sentence for a July 1973 fatal shooting during a St. Louis drug robbery. That’s according to Kansas Department of Corrections and online court records, which showed the gun used in the shooting was found in a vehicle under the seat where Neal was.
In October 1979, then 27-year-old Neal fatally stabbed 21-year-old inmate Carl James Page of Kansas City, according to The Wichita Eagle/Beacon news archives. In August 1980, he was sentenced for voluntary manslaughter, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records.
Neal served his murder sentence from 1974 to 2009, in Kansas and elsewhere. In November 2009, he was sent back to Kansas to serve time for voluntary manslaughter in the fatal stabbing. He was released on parole in November 2019.
This story was originally published July 11, 2023 at 11:02 AM.