In the early morning hours of July 27, 2023, the life of 20-year-old Josephina Lerma-Dominguez was tragically cut short in Wichita, Kansas. A Hispanic female, Josephina found herself in a fatal situation that unfolded atop a parking garage in the city's Old Town Square. She had gone to the garage with her 21-year-old boyfriend, Bryan Lara-Hernandez, to help a friend, Zachary A. Ramirez, whose car battery had died.
What began as an act of kindness devolved into a fatal confrontation.
An argument and a shoving match erupted, during which Lara-Hernandez reportedly drew a gun to end the conflict. Later, as Lerma-Dominguez and Lara-Hernandez were in their Honda preparing to leave, an enraged Ramirez fired 14 shots into the passenger side of the vehicle. The couple was left with no time to react in what prosecutors would later describe as an ambush. A street sweeper operator discovered their bodies inside the car around 3:43 a.m. and alerted the authorities. Both Lerma-Dominguez, who was struck by three bullets, and Lara-Hernandez were pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation swiftly led to a suspect. Wichita police utilized surveillance footage from the parking garage and a license plate reader system to identify and track Ramirez's vehicle. Zachary Ramirez, 19 years old at the time, was arrested later the same day and booked on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of criminal discharge of a firearm.
In April 2024, a Sedgwick County jury deliberated for about 90 minutes before reaching a verdict. They rejected the defense's claim that the killings were an act of self-defense. Zachary A. Ramirez was found guilty of two counts of first-degree felony murder, two alternative counts of second-degree intentional murder, two counts of battery, and one count each of criminal discharge of a weapon and aggravated battery.
