Wichita man sentenced to 20+ years in prison for death of woman found in river

MARION, Kan. (WIBW) - A Wichita man has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for his role in the death of a woman who was found deceased in the Ninnescah River in 2020.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says on Monday, May 23, Robert Bruce Mans Jr., 50, of Wichita was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for his connection with the disappearance and death of a Sedgwick Co. woman in April 2020.

AG Schmidt said Mans was sentenced in Marion Co. District Court to 228 months - 19 years - in a Kansas Department of Corrections facility on one count of voluntary manslaughter and 43 months - 3.5 years - for one count of aggravated battery.

The AG noted that the convictions stemmed from the death of Shalan Niccole Gannon, 27, of Wichita. He said authorities allege Gannon was killed on or around April 8, 2020. She was reported missing on April 11 and her body was found in June in the Ninnescah River in rural Sumner Co.

Mans was formally charged for the crimes in October 2020.

Schmidt said Senior Judge Mark S. Braun sentenced Mans to serve both sentences consecutively and required him to register as a violent offender. Mans pleaded guilty to the crimes on April 18, 2022.

Schmidt said a second defendant connected to the case, Jack Kirkby, 39, of Wichita, also pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of criminal desecration and was sentenced to 1 year of supervised probation.

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