A violent incident in the predawn hours of September 7, 2025, in Haysville, Kansas, left 43-year-old Jesse Dean Rau dead. First responders were directed to the 7700 block of South Broadway after an automated crash detection alert. They found an SUV that had left the roadway and struck a tree; Rau was inside with a gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital, where he died. A female passenger suffered minor injuries from the collision.

Investigators concluded the crash followed an altercation inside the vehicle involving at least three occupants. Detectives say Rau was shot by another passenger, after which the SUV ran off the road. The suspected shooter, described as a white male in his mid-30s, fled on foot west and was considered armed and dangerous.

The next day deputies located 37-year-old James R. Standefer at an apartment complex in Wichita. After a brief standoff and a SWAT call-out, Standefer surrendered and was booked on requested charges of first-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with Rau’s death.

Did anyone in Haysville or Wichita see the SUV around 2:58 a.m. on September 7 or have information about the occupants that night?