Trucker sentenced for murdering woman in south Wichita motel room in 2020
A trucker found guilty at trial of murdering a woman in the south Wichita motel room where she lived has been sentenced to life in prison.
Ricky L. Hollins Jr., 42, of Wichita, won’t be eligible for parole until he serves 50 years. If he is ever released, he’ll be supervised for the rest of his life, court records show.
Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Williams imposed the sentence Thursday afternoon, three months after jurors convicted him of first-degree premeditated murder in the beating and strangulation death of 33-year-old Stephanie Renee Duran. The owner of the Budget Motel, 1315 S. Broadway, found Duran dead in Room 24 the morning of Oct. 22, 2020.
Hollins says he is innocent in the killing and contends circumstantial evidence shows at least two other people went into Duran’s motel room and that she died “well after” he had left, according to court records.
Surveillance video from the motel showed Hollins and Duran going into a room the night before her body was found. He ran away shoeless and with no pants on about 24 minutes later. An affidavit released by the court says Hollins told authorities he parked his semi at the motel, negotiated a $40 payment for oral sex, paid Duran and went into her room for the transaction. Neither of them undressed, the affidavit says he told authorities.
When it was over, Hollins said Duran walked him to the door and he left, fully clothed.
But police found a pair of men’s athletic sneakers in Hollins’ size under the motel bed, a used condom in the trash can, mace and drug paraphernalia near Duran’s body and a glass candle holder with blood on it, the affidavit says.
Duran’s battered body was face down on the floor, naked below the waist. She had been beaten on the head and face and showed signs of having been choked, according to court records and her autopsy report.
