Patricia Sanders was 37 when she was found shot to death in her Topeka home in the early hours of Mother’s Day, May 13, 2018. Police were called to the 1300 block of S.E. Madison around 2:30 a.m.; Sanders was dead at the scene and the case was investigated as a homicide.

Two men were arrested in the days after the killing: 27-year-old Rahnel Erik Rayford on May 17 and 29-year-old Justin Lee McCoy early on May 18. A Shawnee County district judge ordered both released on May 18 for lack of evidence, though they were described as persons of interest. A grand jury later indicted both men; McCoy was charged with first-degree murder but those charges were dropped in February 2019 to allow further investigation. Rayford was scheduled to stand trial on a murder charge. Investigators said DNA analysis was part of the probe and that the killing was linked to an intertwined series of crimes involving multiple individuals.

Did anyone in Topeka have information about Patricia’s movements or contacts in the days before May 13, 2018?