In the spring of 2020, the life of 36-year-old Sarah Kiefer Phillips was tragically cut short in Wichita, Kansas. On the morning of Sunday, May 10th, police were dispatched to a home in the 4900 block of East Murdock following an unknown call for assistance. Upon arrival, they discovered Phillips unresponsive with severe trauma to her head. Emergency services pronounced her dead at the scene.
The investigation into the death of the female victim quickly pointed to a criminal homicide.
Later that same day, authorities located a person of interest at an apartment in the 2500 block of West Wildwood. The man, identified as 27-year-old Isaac Julius Pankratz, was found in possession of a sawed-off shotgun. He was taken into custody and the weapon was recovered.
Detectives determined that Pankratz was with Phillips at the Murdock residence when he fired the shotgun, inflicting the fatal head wound. After the shooting, he fled the scene. While the motive for the shooting was not made public, law enforcement officials confirmed that the incident was not random and that Pankratz and Phillips were known to each other as acquaintances.
Following his arrest, Isaac Pankratz was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possessing a sawed-off shotgun. His criminal history revealed prior felony convictions for aggravated assault, theft, burglary, and attempted robbery. He had been released from prison on parole just a month before the deadly encounter with Sarah Phillips and was under high supervision at the time.
