Neighbors say couple found slain on South Ida were generous

Just Wednesday, a Wichita couple in their early 70s gave food to their unemployed neighbor to help him feed his family. The two were known for being generous like that.

Midmorning Thursday, the husband and wife were found dead, apparently stabbed in a bedroom of their home on South Ida, Wichita police said, based on a preliminary investigation.

And their vehicle was missing for hours after police arrived.

Neighbors said the couple’s generosity made their violent deaths all the more troubling.

The SUV missing from the double-homicide scene was located shortly after 4:30 p.m. Thursday in southwest Sedgwick County, police said late Thursday night.

Police said they found no sign of forced entry at the couple’s home in the 600 block of South Ida, in an old neighborhood southeast of Kellogg and Washington.

Police weren’t confirming the couple’s names but expected to provide more information Friday morning.

According to emergency dispatchers, someone called 911 at 10:50 a.m. Thursday to report that two people had been stabbed. They were pronounced dead at the scene at 11:01.

Earlier in the day, police Capt. Jose Salcido said it was unclear whether the vehicle was stolen. On the police Twitter account, police tweeted this:

“Need to locate a missing vehicle in ref to a murder. 2005 grey Kia Sorento KS tag 530 GAS. Call 911. Pic for example”

The deaths devastated some people. Shortly after 11:30 a.m. Thursday, a man walked up to officers outside the house, spoke to them briefly and then went to a nearby curb. He sat down and began weeping. Kelly Otis, a chief investigator for the District Attorney’s Office, walked over and began speaking quietly to the man.

Police put up yellow crime-scene tape around the two-story house and blocked off a portion of Indianapolis Street, which intersects with Ida. The 1700-square-foot house, built in 1910 and appraised at $50,000 according to tax records, sits at the intersection of the two streets.

Late Thursday afternoon, homicide detectives who had been to the scene earlier returned to the house and went inside, wearing gloves.

Earlier, officers knocked on doors of nearby homes and searched along the curbs and in a vacant lot south of the house.

Salcido gave this account: A possible witness couldn’t get the couple to wake up. Police arrived and found the couple in a bedroom with what appeared to be stab wounds, based on a preliminary investigation.

A neighbor, Juan Araujo described the couple as “really nice people.” Araujo said that on Wednesday, they gave him a bag of potatoes, soup mix and bagels. He has children and has been out of work.

Araujo said he last saw the couple at about 6 p.m. Wednesday. He said they usually are in their home unless they are going out to the store.

“I feel sad because they don’t deserve to die like that,” Araujo said.

Another neighbor, Jacinta Marling, said she had known the couple for 13 years, living next door to them.

As her voice broke and she began to cry, Marling described them as “very sweet, gracious people,” adding, “There is no reason for this to happen to them.”

If they cooked too many ribs or had extra salsa, they would share with neighbors, Marling said.

She knew of no trouble until an officer knocked on her door Thursday and said the couple were very badly hurt.

“They’ve owned that house forever,” she said.

“Oh, we are going to miss them.”

Contributing: Beccy Tanner of The Eagle

This story was originally published October 16, 2014 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Neighbors say couple found slain on South Ida were generous."