Christian Alexander Santiago, a 36-year-old White/Caucasian male and lifelong resident of Wichita, Kansas, was a father, a son, and a brother. Friends and family remembered the Wichita South High School attendee as sweet, funny, loyal, smart, and an excellent cook. His life was cut short in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 29, 2023.
Just before 4 a.m., Wichita police responded to a shooting call in the 2800 block of East Stadium Drive.
Officers arrived to find Santiago in the front passenger seat of a white SUV, deceased from multiple gunshot wounds. The investigation revealed that the violence stemmed from a planned robbery targeting a female acquaintance of Santiago’s, whom the perpetrators believed was a drug dealer. Santiago had gone with the woman to a residence where the robbery was set to occur. During the incident, the woman was severely beaten and robbed, and Santiago was shot outside the home. When police processed the scene, they found a handgun on the passenger floorboard of the SUV, as well as a digital scale and a crystal-like substance in Santiago's pocket.
Investigators determined the attack was not a random act, as the individuals involved knew one another. The investigation led to a series of swift arrests. Within days, police took Adonis Andrews, 47, Jorge Romero Jr., 48, and Shaun O'Brien, 41, into custody. In late May 2023, authorities arrested a fourth suspect, 26-year-old Joseph Fiedler.
All four men were charged with first-degree murder. The bonds for Andrews, Romero, and O'Brien were each set at $250,000. In February 2024, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office announced that a jury had convicted Jorge Romero-Corral, then 49, of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated battery for his role in the crimes against Santiago and his acquaintance. His sentencing was scheduled for March 7, 2024.
As of the conviction in February 2024, the cases against the three co-defendants—Adonis Andrews, Shaun O'Brien, and Joseph Fiedler—were still pending.
