On the evening of December 29, 2020, Bradley Michael Reece, a 43-year-old White male from Wichita, Kansas, was fatally shot at a residence on West Fairhaven. The incident, which occurred around 8:15 p.m. just outside the Wichita city limits, also resulted in the death of 22-year-old Kayla Schmidt, who succumbed to her injuries a few days later on New Year's Eve.
Reece was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
The tragic events unfolded when a group of individuals, including Michael C. Wilking, went to Reece's home to confront him over an unpaid drug debt. The initial plan to "teach him a lesson" escalated into a robbery. Armed with a shotgun, Wilking broke into the house, demanding drugs and cash while others searched the premises, taking methamphetamine and computer equipment. During the confrontation, Reece managed to escape to a neighbor's house to seek help, which led to an exchange of gunfire with Wilking in the front yard.
In the aftermath of the shooting, law enforcement identified two persons of interest, 34-year-old Joshua Dean Halstead and 28-year-old Jacquellyn Michelle Arthur, and sought the public's help in locating them. Both were apprehended on January 6, 2021, and subsequently booked on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated robbery. The investigation later identified Michael C. Wilking as the gunman. In February 2023, Wilking pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder for Reece's death.
The court proceedings revealed that Wilking's girlfriend, Kayla Schmidt, was also shot during the incident and was later left at a hospital by Wilking and the others as they fled the scene. For his role in the death of Bradley Michael Reece, as well as other unrelated crimes, Michael C. Wilking was sentenced to a total of 34 years in prison. Nearly 24 years of that sentence were specifically for the murder of Reece.
