WICHITA — The boyfriend of a woman found dead in her home after being beaten with a shovel has pleaded guilty to killing her.
The Wichita Eagle reports that 38-year-old Travis Becker Jr. entered the plea Friday afternoon in a Sedgwick County courtroom to reduced charges of first-degree felony murder and aggravated kidnapping in the November 2017 death of 42-year-old Perla Rodriguez. He had originally been charged with first-degree premeditated murder.
He’s expected to serve about 40 years after he’s sentenced on Jan. 2.
Rodriguez was outreach director for the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center. Her severely battered body was found Nov. 14, 2017, in her home by Wichita officers. They also found a wooden handle shovel inside the bedroom, with the shovel blade covered in blood and hair.
