SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man accused of killing his mother-in-law in front of his 8-year-old son made his first court appearance in the case Tuesday.
Stephen Jacob Rogers was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated endangering a child, and criminal threat in the death of 49-year-old Sharmaine Burke, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred late Wednesday night
At 11:32 p.m., July 30, Sedgwick County Emergency Communications received a 911 call from 49-year-old Sharmaine Marlene Burke, according to a media release from the sheriff's office. Burke reported that her son-in-law, 29-year-old Stephen J. Rogers of Wichita, was drunk and had threatened to shoot her. She also stated that her eight-year-old grandson, Rogers’ son, was inside their home at the time, at the Longbranch Mobile Home Park near Derby.
The 911 call-taker stayed on the line as deputies responded. A few minutes into the call, gunshots were heard, and the line went silent.
Deputies arrived at 11:41 p.m. and found Burke with multiple gunshot wounds to her upper body. Deputies and Sedgwick County EMS attempted life-saving measures, but Burke succumbed to her injuries at 11:57 p.m.
Rogers and his son were not at the scene when deputies arrived. An immediate search for both the suspect and the child began. Deputies obtained critical information, including a description of Rogers’ vehicle, and shared it with surrounding law enforcement agencies.
At 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, FLOCK camera technology detected Rogers’ vehicle in Augusta. Butler County law enforcement quickly located and stopped the vehicle on U.S. Highway 54 near Haverhill Road. Rogers was arrested and the child was found unharmed inside the vehicle.
Rogers was taken to the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Investigations Division, and was booked into jail.
Deputies and investigators provided immediate resources to ensure the child’s safety and wellbeing.
The Sheriff’s Office coordinated with multiple agencies during the investigation. Quick action and cooperation allowed law enforcement to safely locate the child and apprehend the suspect.
As part of the investigation, it was determined that an Amber Alert was not necessary because investigators obtained real-time intelligence on the suspect’s vehicle and used FLOCK technology to track it. Issuing an Amber Alert could have alerted the suspect, increasing the risk to the child and complicating the search.
The process for issuing an alert also involves the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and the timeline indicates the alert would have been issued only after the suspect and child were located.