On the morning of February 24, 2024, police responded to a shooting inside a second-floor suite at the Blue Way Inn & Suites off Kellogg in east Wichita. Officers found 35-year-old Christopher Harrell and 35-year-old Natisha Phillips with fatal gunshot wounds. Phillips was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head; Harrell was taken to a hospital but died from a gunshot wound to the neck. A young child was in the room unharmed and was placed into protective custody and given medical and psychological support.

Investigators arrested a 20-year-old suspect, John Griffin, who was charged in connection with the double homicide along with child endangerment and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Surveillance footage and further inquiry indicated the couple’s AR-15 style rifle was removed from the room after the shooting; police later recovered the weapon in another room in the motel.

If anyone has information about the shooting at the Blue Way Inn & Suites or knew Christopher Harrell, please share what you know with Wichita police.