On the evening of April 23, 2020, a disturbance in a home in the 200 block of North Charles in Wichita, Kansas, tragically cut short the life of 30-year-old Blake Mayes. Police were called to the residence around 7:10 p.m. regarding a shooting. Upon arrival, they discovered Mayes on the front porch with a single gunshot wound to his body. He was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries about an hour later.
The investigation into the death of the male victim quickly
revealed a grim story of a domestic dispute that spiraled out of control. The altercation involved Mayes, his 36-year-old girlfriend, Bobbie Williams-Cox, and two male acquaintances, 51-year-old William James Moore and 28-year-old Jesse Sweeney. According to court records, the group had been smoking methamphetamine before the fatal confrontation. Williams-Cox alleged that Mayes had been physically and mentally abusive and had stolen her stimulus card. She and her two friends reportedly intended to 'teach him a lesson'.
As the confrontation escalated, Mayes attempted to leave. It was in that moment that Williams-Cox, reportedly in a fit of pent-up anger, shot him once in the chest. Following the shooting, police began searching for the three individuals involved. William James Moore was the first to be apprehended, arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Soon after, Bobbie Williams-Cox was arrested in Topeka for felony murder. Jesse Sweeney, the third suspect, remained at large for a period before being apprehended.
Ultimately, Bobbie Williams-Cox was charged with second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault. She pleaded guilty to the charges and in February 2023, was sentenced to 27 and a half years in prison for killing her boyfriend. William Moore faced charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon. Jesse Sweeney was also charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault.
