30 January 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A Topeka woman has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison following an investigation into a suspicious death in Topeka last year.
Court documents with the Shawnee County Third District show that Serena M. Sanchez, 27, of Topeka, was sentenced to 123 months – or a little more than ten years – in prison and 36 months of post-release supervision. This was in connection to a charge of murder in the 2nd degree.
Sanchez was arrested on March 7, 2023 on one count of second degree murder. This came after the Topeka Police Department (TPD) found a man who was stabbed to death in downtown Topeka on March 6, 2023.
A suspicious death investigation was launched in the aftermath of the discovery at Southwest Third Street and Southwest Harrison Street. Police later identified the deceased as Rodney D. Clayton, 57, of Topeka. His death was the ninth murder case of 2023 which saw a record number of homicide cases for the Capital City.
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