Daisy Aracely Valenzuela was a 25-year-old woman remembered for her warmth and thoughtfulness by those who knew and loved her. Born on September 18, 2001, her life was tragically cut short in a place she should have been safest: her family’s home in Wichita, Kansas.
On the morning of Saturday, September 26, 2026, an unimaginable act of violence unfolded inside the residence in the 5000 block of East Blake Street.
At 11:29 a.m., Sedgwick County Emergency Communications received an open-line 911 call. After a moment of silence, the caller reported that people had been shot. When Wichita police officers arrived, they discovered a horrific scene. Daisy, her father, 49-year-old Juan Valenzuela-Ayala, and her mother, 40-year-old Brenda Silva-Cervantes, had all been fatally shot. Miraculously, three other people in the home were physically unharmed: Daisy’s 2-year-old daughter and two 17-year-olds.
According to an arrest affidavit, the incident began in the kitchen where Brenda Silva-Cervantes asked her son to help her sign some paperwork. A witness who was present said he did not seem agitated during the conversation. The witness went upstairs and then heard a “popping sound” followed by a scream from Daisy. The sounds continued, and the witness heard Daisy’s young daughter crying. Another person in the house at the time, the suspect's brother, reportedly walked over to him and said, “Chill, chill, chill.”
The suspect was quickly identified as Daisy’s 21-year-old brother, Juan Valenzuela-Silva. He fled the home in a 2014 Infiniti QX60. Investigators immediately entered the vehicle’s information into the Flock automated license plate reader system, which provided alerts that the car was traveling south out of the Wichita area. The Wichita Police Department coordinated with regional law enforcement partners, including the Kansas Highway Patrol, which deployed its Air Support Unit. Within hours, a Butler County Sheriff's deputy located the Infiniti. A traffic stop was conducted south of Augusta, and Valenzuela-Silva was taken into custody without incident.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy for a family that lost three loved ones in a single act of violence,” Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said in a statement. He praised the swift, coordinated effort of multiple agencies that led to the quick arrest. “From the moment our officers arrived, their first priority was making sure the 2-year-old and the two teenagers inside the home were safe. From there, our focus turned to finding the person responsible and taking that individual into custody as quickly and safely as possible.”
Juan Valenzuela-Silva was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail and later charged with one count of capital murder for the killing of more than one person and one count of aggravated child endangerment. A witness told police that Valenzuela-Silva had a history of paranoia and was angry with his family because he believed his father was speaking ill of him.
In the wake of the tragedy, family members expressed their profound grief. "Our family has experienced a loss that no family should ever have to endure," wrote Guadalupe Vazquez on a GoFundMe page created to help with funeral expenses. "There are moments when it still doesn’t feel real... The circumstances surrounding this tragedy have left us with a kind of heartbreak that is difficult to comprehend." The community gathered to remember Daisy and her parents through a visitation, a rosary service, and a funeral, with Daisy being laid to rest at Ascension Cemetery.
As of October 2026, the criminal case against Juan Valenzuela-Silva was proceeding through the court system. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call WPD detectives at 316-268-4407 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.
