On the morning of November 30, 2018, 30-year-old Justin Willingham of Salina, Kansas, was found inside a residence at 703 State Street with gunshot wounds. Salina officers arrived after a shots-fired call around 3:43 a.m.; Salina Fire Department EMS pronounced Willingham dead at the scene. His death was Salina’s first homicide of 2018.

Detectives quickly developed persons of interest and interviewed witnesses who had been at the house. Investigators identified 25-year-old Mika Lee Thille of Downs, Kansas, as a suspect; an acquaintance brought Thille to the police department and he was booked into the Saline County Jail later that day. Another person of interest, Valerie Ann Vogel, was also identified, and police sought information from 41-year-old Shannon Lavar Bryant.

Thille was initially charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary. At trial the defense pointed to the presence of a second gun at the scene; jurors convicted Thille of second-degree murder and imposed a sentence of about 38 years. Does anyone who was in Salina that night or who knew Justin have information about what happened at the State Street residence?