Five arrested in connection with body found on North Hydraulic

Five people have been arrested and jailed on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the killing of a man whose body was found in an SUV in the 5100 block of North Hydraulic on Christmas Eve.

At least one of those arrested was acquainted with the victim, 42-year-old Moises Arias-Aranda, the sheriff’s office said.

During a news conference Tuesday, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Pollock announced the arrests of Diego S .Olivas, 28; Gabriel R. Lara, 20; Jose A. Rojas, 29; and Amelia Wilson-Ramos, 21, on Monday evening.

Olivas, he said, is from California. The others are Wichitans.

The fifth suspect, 25-year-old Aubrey D. Cole, was arrested on a homicide warrant midafternoon Tuesday in Seminole County, Okla., sheriff’s Lt. Lin Dehning said. Cole, who was booked into an Oklahoma jail, will be transported to Wichita to face criminal charges, Dehning said.

He said the sheriff’s office had been in contact with Seminole County authorities before the arrest. Cole lives in Oklahoma, Dehning said.

Pollock said detectives collected evidence that shows Arias-Aranda was fatally stabbed in north Wichita sometime between 8 and 10 p.m. on Dec. 23 and then was left along the road in his 1994 Ford Explorer. It’s unclear whether he was dead before the SUV was parked, he said.

Pollock would not give the address where the stabbing occurred but did say a search warrant executed at the location Tuesday morning yielded evidence consistent with that theory.

He also refused to disclose a motive or motives for the killing.

The four suspects arrested Monday were captured at “various times and locations” in north Wichita, Pollock said. Two were arrested where the killing occurred, he said.

A Park City police officer noticed Arias-Aranda’s Explorer parked on the shoulder of Hydraulic at 6:44 p.m. on Dec. 24.

Arias-Aranda was found dead inside from at least one stab wound, Pollock said Monday.

Authorities on Monday put out a call for the public’s assistance to help narrow the time frame of Arias-Aranda’s death and find his killer or killers. Pollock said citizen tips played a role in the arrests but that “the meat of the investigation was detectives doing what they do best: finding clues, following up on evidence, conducting interviews and seeking evidence which lead to the arrests.”

“We extend our gratitude for the assistance that we received from the public and the business that we contacted,” Pollock said. “We are no longer needing to speak with anyone who may have seen the Ford Explorer parked on North Hydraulic.”

He also offered condolences to the families affected by Arias-Aranda’s killing.

Pollock said detectives and forensic investigators were continuing to conduct evidence searches within the county; those were expected to conclude Tuesday. He would not disclose whether Arias-Aranda met the people suspected in his death at the address where he was stabbed or whether he was taken to that location from somewhere else.

“There are multiple locations involved in the investigation, and we’re still sorting through some of that,” he said.

Detectives are planning to present their case to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office later this week for criminal charges, Pollock said.

Arias-Aranda’s is the third homicide case worked by the sheriff’s office in 2015.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Five arrested in connection with body found on North Hydraulic."