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Nov 11, 2026

Prison for double murder of Kan. couple found in a vehicle

Posted Nov 11, 2026 3:00 AM
Axel Arellanes-Vara
Axel Arellanes-Vara

JOHOSON COUNTY — A 41-year-old man is going to prison for a double-murder in Olathe in 2021.

On November 3, a Judge Neil Foth sentenced Axel Arellanes-Vara to life in prison without parole for one count of capital murder, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

On September 9, a Johnson County jury found  Arellanes-Vara was found guilty in the deaths of 45-year-old Angela Santiago and 42-year-old Jose Arellano-Rascon inside a parked vehicle. The couple were from Tonganoxie.

Just before 1:30a.m. Nov. 20, 2021, police responded to the south of gunshots in the 1000 Block of East Fredrikson Drive, according to a media release. First responders found the victims in a vehicle with gunshot wounds. They were pronounced deceased at the scene.

A second suspect, Salvador Garcia-Zarate, was sentenced last year to more than 27 years after he was convicted of second-degree murder.