A Johnson County jury has found Axel Arellanes-Vara guilty of capital murder in the November 2021 shooting deaths of Angela Santiago and Jose Arellano-Rascon, a Tonganoxie couple discovered fatally shot inside a vehicle in Olathe. The verdict marks the first trial resolution in a case that began nearly five years ago when officers responded to reports of gunfire in the middle of the night and found the pair dead at the scene.
According to KCTV, police were called to the 1000 block of East Frederickson Drive in Olathe on November 20, 2021, where they found Santiago and Arellano-Rascon dead. Santiago was 45 and Arellano-Rascon was 42. Olathe officers had responded to reports of gunfire around 1:25 to 1:30 a.m. that night and discovered the couple inside a vehicle riddled with shattered windows, according to Crime Solvers Central.
Investigators Say Couple Was Targeted, Not Random Victims
Early in the investigation, reports described the killings as a targeted act of violence rather than a random one, per the same account from Crime Solvers Central. The case later resulted in capital-murder charges against Arellanes-Vara and two co-defendants.
In the weeks after the shooting, investigators sought public help locating a suspect vehicle described as a dark gray Ford F-150 pickup truck with a covered bed, tinted windows, six-star wheels and running boards, reportedly occupied by four to five men, according to The Mirror. Both victims lived in Tonganoxie, a small Leavenworth County town roughly 25 miles west of Kansas City, as reported by AP News.
Family members set up GoFundMe fundraisers for both victims to cover funeral costs in the aftermath of the shooting, with Santiago's relatives noting she was a mother of four children, the Mirror reported.
Capital Charges and $10 Million Bonds Followed a Year-Long Investigation
Nearly a year after the killings, three suspects were arrested and charged with capital murder in September 2022. Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe announced the charges against Arellanes-Vara, Salvador Garcia-Zarate and Jesus Enrique Cereceda-Soto on September 30, 2022, with bond for each defendant set at $10 million, according to KCTV's earlier reporting on the case.
Following the verdict, Howe said Garcia-Zarate and Cereceda-Soto should remain presumed innocent until proven guilty, per KCTV. No further procedural status for the two men was stated in connection with Arellanes-Vara's conviction.
What a Capital Murder Conviction Means Under Kansas Law
Under Kansas law, a capital murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole if prosecutors do not seek or secure the death penalty, according to the Kansas Legislative Research Department. FindLaw's summary of the statute also discusses death-penalty sentencing proceedings.
District Attorney Howe is the Johnson County district attorney who announced the charges in this case. The article also includes a link to CBS News. Kansas permits capital punishment in capital-murder cases, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The provided reports did not state whether prosecutors sought the death penalty against Arellanes-Vara or give a formal sentencing date. Trial schedules for Garcia-Zarate and Cereceda-Soto also remain unannounced.
