In the winter of 2000, the life of 29-year-old Aaron Sander, a White/Caucasian male, was brutally cut short in what would become known as one of Wichita, Kansas's most infamous crimes. On the evening of December 14, Sander was at a home on Birchwood Drive with his friends, Brad Heyka, 27; Jason Befort, 26; Heather Muller, 25; and Befort's girlfriend.
The group was ambushed when two armed intruders, later identified as brothers Jonathan and Reginald Carr, forced their way into the residence.
For hours, the five friends were subjected to unimaginable terror. The Carr brothers forced them to engage in sexual acts with one another and repeatedly raped the women. The torment continued as the victims were forced to withdraw money from various ATMs. Following the prolonged assault and robbery, the captors drove their five victims to a snow-covered soccer field in a remote area of northeast Wichita in the early morning hours of December 15. There, they were all shot execution-style. Aaron Sander, Brad Heyka, Jason Befort, and Heather Muller died from their wounds at the scene. Incredibly, Befort's girlfriend, though shot in the head, survived and managed to run for help in the freezing conditions.
The survivor's detailed testimony was instrumental in the swift capture of the suspects. Just hours after the discovery of the victims, a tip from a citizen who recognized a stolen truck described in news reports led police to an apartment complex where they arrested Reginald Carr. His brother, Jonathan, was apprehended shortly thereafter. The investigation revealed that the quadruple homicide was the culmination of a week-long crime spree by the Carr brothers, which also included the robbery and murder of 55-year-old Wichita Symphony cellist Ann Walenta days earlier.
Jonathan and Reginald Carr were charged with a multitude of crimes for their nine-day rampage. In October 2002, a jury found them guilty on nearly all of the 113 counts against them, including capital murder for the deaths of Aaron Sander and the three other victims on the soccer field, and first-degree murder for the death of Ann Walenta. The brothers were subsequently sentenced to death. Despite numerous appeals over the years that have seen their death sentences overturned and later reinstated, they remain on death row.
