Melvin L. Shields, 48, of Wichita, Kan., has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the 1988 murder of Jolene Jones, 28, and Steve Ray, 33, in Kansas City, Kan.
Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman filed the charges on Wednesday. Jones and Ray were found shot to death near 19th and Argentine Boulevard in Kansas City, Kan.
According to the district attorney’s spokesman, the Metro Squad was convened to investigate the case in 1988, but the crime scene investigation and interviews by police detectives failed to identify the person or persons responsible. While the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department never closed the investigation, there were periods where no new leads came in and the investigation was not active, officials said.
During the years, forensic reports were issued by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation laboratory and more recently the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office and detectives from the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit undertook a comprehensive review of the case, which led to the filing of charges, the district attorney’s office stated.
Shields is held in the Sedgwick County Jail. Bond has been set at $1 million. He will be transported to Wyandotte County for a first appearance next week, authorities said. The district attorney’s office stated that the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.