Wichita man sentenced to 160 years in murder of stepdaughter-turned-wife, rape of sisters

The Wichita man convicted of murdering his stepdaughter-turned-wife and raping her sisters has been ordered to serve at least 160 1/2 years in prison, court records show.

Larry E. Ingram Jr. was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no parole for 75 years, plus an additional 85 1/2 years — meaning he’ll be incarcerated for the rest of his natural life unless his cases are overturned on appeal or he’s granted a commutation or pardon.

Ingram, 44, was convicted in January of second-degree reckless murder and violating a protective order in the Dec. 21, 2023, shooting death of 23-year-old Deniq Ingram at their apartment near K-96 and Rock Road. A different jury convicted him in December of 17 sex crimes, including child rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated incest in the sexual abuse of his other stepdaughters.

Ingram’s sentence comes months after a March hearing where he insisted multiple defense lawyers were ineffective representing him and withheld important evidence from jurors.

But a new team of lawyers appointed to investigate those claims determined the other attorneys did their jobs and that a notebook or binder Ingram says is key to proving his innocence likely doesn’t exist. And even if it was real, the person who supposedly compiled it — Deniq — is dead and can’t authenticate it, court records show.

Before handing down the sentence, Sedgwick County District Judge Tyler Roush also refused to grant Ingram a new rape trial after his lawyers argued the court unfairly proceeded while one of his experienced public defenders was out for surgery and that jurors never should have heard evidence about Ingram’s victims having abortions after he impregnated them, according to court records.

Defense arguments that Ingram deserved a new murder trial over a problematic jury instruction and because prosecutors misstated the law in front of jurors didn’t persuade the judge, either.

In a phone call with The Eagle on Monday, the mother of Ingram’s victims said she is grateful her ex-husband can’t harm her surviving children anymore.

“I’m glad it’s over. ... Now my kids don’t have to be scared,” Daniva Chandler said, adding that one of her daughters worried Ingram might try to find her if he ever left prison.

“They can move forward,” she said. “It was a good day.”

Ingram fatally shot Deniq at their northeast Wichita apartment after she got up in the middle of the night, around 12:40 a.m., to pump breast milk for their 3-month-old son. Ingram told police the shooting was a terrible mistake, that he reached for a Glock 10mm handgun and fired into the dark after he heard a noise and Deniq didn’t answer when he called out to her.

He also told police he had been fearful of a home invasion after someone slashed his tires.

Deniq’s family contends Ingram killed her on purpose to prevent her from testifying at the sex abuse trial where he was ultimately convicted of raping and molesting her sisters for years while he was married to their mother. The sexual abuse resulted in at least three pregnancies that the girls were forced by Ingram to abort, the abused sisters have testified in court.

Prosecutors argued at trial that Ingram knew — or should have known — Deniq was in the apartment and that he reached for the gun in her purse instead of checking other rooms to see whether she was pumping breast milk like usual.

He waited in bed without turning on the lights or giving any warning that he was armed and fired the moment he saw her in the bedroom doorway, they told jurors in January.

Ingram’s defense lawyers claimed Ingram fired into the dark to protect Deniq and their infant son from potential threats after being jolted awake from a deep sleep. He killed “the love of his life” on accident, they insisted.

Deniq died from a single gunshot wound to her left breast after being taken by ambulance to a Wichita hospital.

At the time of her death, Ingram was under a court order barring contact with Deniq because she was supposed to testify at his rape trial. He helped raise Deniq and her sisters, but his marriage to their mother fell apart in 2019 after some of the daughters disclosed that Ingram had molested and raped them for years.

Deniq claimed she hadn’t been abused by Ingram and stayed with him when the rest of her family fled the state, although her mother has said she thinks Deniq suffered from Stockholm syndrome, when someone bonds with their abuser or captor.

Her family has said Deniq planned to become a neurosurgeon and excelled in sports in high school before studying at Wichita State University.

Ingram was sentenced to life with no parole eligibility for 75 years, plus 534 months in the sex abuse case. He received 493 months in prison for killing Deniq. The sentences will be served consecutively, or back to back, the judge ruled.

This story was originally published July 21, 2025 at 6:16 PM.

Amy Renee Leiker

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6644

Amy Renee Leiker has been reporting for The Wichita Eagle since 2010. She covers crime, courts and breaking news and updates the newspaper’s online databases. She’s a mom of three and loves to read in her non-work time. Reach her at 316-268-6644 or at aleiker@wichitaeagle.com.