Wichita woman sentenced for boyfriend’s 2020 murder near Douglas and Meridian

A Wichita woman has been ordered to serve 27 1/2 years in prison for killing her boyfriend in a moment of rage sparked by what she claimed was physical and mental abuse.

Bobbie L. Williams, 38, pleaded guilty on Jan. 9 to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and second-degree murder in the April 23, 2020, fatal shooting of 30-year-old Blake E. Mayes at 207 N. Charles, near Douglas and Meridian. Court records say Williams “lost control” and shot Mayes in the chest as two of her friends — Jesse Sweeney and William Moore — attempted to teach him “a lesson” for allegedly abusing her and stealing “her stimulus card.”

Court records say the group smoked methamphetamine before the fight and that no one “set out” to kill Mayes, but Williams reportedly fired in a fit of pent up anger after Mayes broke free and tried to leave.

Officers found Mayes, a Wichita resident, bleeding on the front porch when they responded to a shooting call at the address around 7 p.m.; he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital about an hour later, according to his autopsy report.

Sedgwick County District Judge David Kaufman imposed Williams’ sentence Monday, Dan Dillon, a spokesman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, said by email.

Moore, 54, of Wichita, is currently facing trial in April on counts of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and criminal possession a weapon by a felon, court records show. Sweeney, 31, of Wichita, is scheduled for trial in August on aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault charges.