On November 17, 2016, 27-year-old Laura Abarca Nogueda was found shot to death in her Wichita, Kansas, apartment. Her boyfriend discovered her and reported their six-day-old daughter, Sophia, missing. The case drew a joint local police and FBI investigation focused on the victim’s acquaintances and phone records.

Investigators identified 34-year-old Yesenia Sesmas, who had known Laura for years and had traveled from Dallas, Texas. Authorities say Sesmas had been faking a pregnancy after a miscarriage and intended to steal Laura’s baby to pass the child off as her own. Two days after the murder a SWAT team recovered baby Sophia alive in Dallas and arrested Sesmas at the scene.

Sesmas told investigators the shooting was accidental during a struggle after Laura reportedly changed her mind about giving up the child, a claim disputed by family and friends. Sesmas was extradited to Kansas to face charges; jurors later convicted her of first-degree premeditated murder, kidnapping and aggravated interference with parental custody and she received a life sentence. Does anyone have information about Laura’s last hours or contacts leading up to November 17, 2016?