In the early morning hours of April 24, 2021, the life of Nathan Brock, a 42-year-old White/Caucasian male from Wichita, Kansas, was tragically cut short. Deputies from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the Englewood mobile home park at 3201 E. MacArthur shortly before 5:30 a.m. after receiving reports of gunfire in the area. Upon their arrival, they were met with a scene that required them to force entry into a mobile home.
Inside the residence, a grim discovery
was made. Nathan Brock and a woman, later identified as 41-year-old Trisha L. Benjamin, were found deceased. Both victims had sustained apparent gunshot wounds. The initial response from law enforcement immediately launched a homicide investigation as detectives began the meticulous process of collecting evidence and conducting interviews to piece together the events that led to the double homicide.
The investigation quickly led to a person of interest. On April 27, 2021, just three days after the discovery of the bodies, Sedgwick County Sheriff's detectives arrested 30-year-old Steven L. Fessenden of Wichita. Fessenden was subsequently booked on charges of first-degree murder and interference with law enforcement. While authorities did not immediately release a motive to avoid hindering their ongoing investigation, details would later emerge shedding some light on the tragic circumstances.
During the course of the investigation, Fessenden claimed that the shootings were an act of self-defense and a "tragic accident" that occurred while everyone involved was using a psychedelic drug. However, a witness at the scene provided a conflicting account, stating that Fessenden and Brock had been acting "loud and aggressive with each other while on the drug" before the fatal shots were fired. In August 2025, Steven Levi Fessenden pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of Nathan Brock and Trisha Benjamin. He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison for his role in the killings.
