SEDGWICK COUNTY —A paroled killer and a woman whom he had lived with arrested in the death of the man's girlfriend made their first appearances in court Tuesday,
According to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office, Ahmad Bey, 39, was charged with first-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearem by a felon. Vanessa Waner, 34, was charged charged with interference with law enforcement in connection with the death of 41-year-old Melinda Sprague.Wa
Just after 2p.m. on Christmas Eve, a co-worker of Sprague contacted police about her not showing up for work, according to Wichita Police Captain Brett Allred. Police made a missing person report.
During the investigation, police located Sprague's missing 2017 Ford Focus behind a business in the 1500 Block of East Harry in Wichita, according to Allred. They also located her body inside the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police developed information that led to the arrest of 39-year-old Ahmad Bey on a requested charge of first-degree murder and a Kansas Department of Corrections warrant and 34-year-old Vanessa Waner on a requested charge of first-degree murder, according to Allred.
Police investigators learned that Sprague and Bey were in a dating relationship, according to Allred. Bey and Waner lived together.
Police found Bey at a residence in Neodesha, Kansas and brought him back to Wichita. Both suspects were booked into the Sedgwick County jail early Friday, according to online jail records. He was released from prison in July after a conviction for second-degree murder in 1999, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.