A Sedgwick County jury on Tuesday found 20-year-old Matthew Wayne Criscenzo guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend, Naomi Oglesby, after an argument at his father’s home on May 25, 2025, culminating in a single gunshot to her head as she was 37 weeks pregnant, authorities said.
The verdict caps a four-day trial that examined a volatile relationship and a moment that turned lethal inside a south Wichita house. Prosecutors said Criscenzo used a .40-caliber Glock 22 during the confrontation in the 700 block of South Laura Avenue, then made a series of spontaneous admissions as police arrived. Jurors convicted him of premeditated first-degree murder, felony murder, kidnapping and aggravated battery. Doctors delivered Oglesby’s baby by emergency C-section; officials previously said the newborn suffered severe brain injury from oxygen loss. A sentencing date has not been set. Under Kansas law, first-degree murder carries a life sentence with parole eligibility determined by statute and the court.
Testimony traced the final minutes before the shooting to a small living room where Criscenzo and Oglesby argued near a television and game console. According to evidence summarized in court, the dispute escalated when Oglesby took a PlayStation controller and told him she was leaving. In an interview room monologue captured after his arrest, Criscenzo said he told her to stop, pointed his gun and fired. Officers and jurors heard recordings and read excerpts in which he lamented, “I can’t believe I shot her,” and, “She wanted to leave; I should have let her leave,” statements that investigators said he repeated in the patrol car and at the station. His father told police he heard the gunshot from a nearby bedroom and emerged to see Oglesby on the floor and his son holding a handgun before he took the weapon away and called 911.
Investigators recovered a spent .40-caliber casing in the living room, live rounds nearby, and an extended magazine on the couch. Detectives said the couple frequently stayed at the home, where they collected surveillance video, photographed the scene and cataloged clothing and electronics as potential evidence. Oglesby, 20, was transported to a hospital, where medical staff pronounced her dead minutes after surgeons delivered her baby. Officials did not release the child’s current condition; earlier records described significant brain trauma and seizures following delivery. Prosecutors told jurors the case centered on control and threats, citing accounts from friends and past partners who said the defendant had been violent and warned Oglesby a week earlier that he would kill her.
Defense filings and arguments acknowledged the shooting but sought to undercut premeditation. Attorneys emphasized that their client immediately expressed shock and remorse, arguing the statements reflected an impulsive act rather than a plan to kill. They asked jurors to consider whether pointing and firing constituted an intent to murder as opposed to reckless conduct, and pressed witnesses on the chaos of the moment, alcohol use and the physical struggle described in the interview-room audio. Prosecutors countered that the threat history, the choice to arm himself during the argument and the fatal head shot supported the murder counts, while the detention of Oglesby during the dispute met the elements for kidnapping. The jury deliberated for several hours before returning guilty verdicts on all counts.
The case unfolded in a neighborhood just south of downtown, a grid of modest homes where relatives said the couple drifted between addresses. Court records show police previously responded to conflicts involving the pair, including an incident a week before the homicide when, according to a friend’s account read in court, the defendant was intoxicated and pulled a gun while threatening Oglesby. Data points cited by prosecutors included phone records, the timing of 911 calls and a crime-lab analysis of the Glock 22, which matched the casing found at the scene. The autopsy noted a single gunshot wound to the head. No other injuries on Oglesby suggested a different weapon; detectives did not recover a second firearm.
Legal proceedings moved quickly once charges were filed in 2025. A judge ordered Criscenzo held for trial after preliminary testimony that included portions of his recorded remarks and the father’s account. Jury selection began late last month; opening statements followed at the Sedgwick County Courthouse. Over four days, jurors heard from police officers, forensic analysts, medical personnel and acquaintances who described the couple’s relationship. The panel received instructions on first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder tied to the underlying kidnapping, and the remaining counts. By Tuesday afternoon, the jury had reached unanimous decisions. The judge polled the jurors and accepted the verdicts, then set the case for sentencing.
Outside the courthouse, reaction was subdued. A representative of the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office thanked jurors and said the case underscored how quickly private arguments can escalate when a firearm is introduced. Defense lawyers declined extended comment, saying they would address potential sentencing factors in written filings. Neighbors on South Laura Avenue recalled squad cars lining the block the morning of May 25, 2025, and crime-scene tape across the front yard as investigators moved in and out of the small house. A nearby resident said the street has largely returned to its quiet routine but that the memory of sirens and an emergency surgery that could not save the mother still lingers.
Sentencing will be set in coming days at the Sedgwick County Courthouse in Wichita. In Kansas, first-degree murder is an off-grid felony that carries a life term; the court will determine parole eligibility and how any additional counts and firearm factors affect the overall sentence. Prosecutors said they will seek a punishment reflecting the loss of life and the harm to the child. Defense counsel signaled plans to submit mitigating information, including age, lack of adult felony convictions and the defendant’s recorded expressions of remorse. A written judgment will follow the hearing and become part of the public record. Any notice of appeal would be filed after sentencing and proceed on a separate timetable in the state appellate courts.
As of Wednesday, the jury’s verdict stands and the case moves to sentencing. Hospital and court officials have not provided a new update on the baby’s condition. A judge is expected to set a hearing date after reviewing scheduling with attorneys and probation staff.
Author note: Last updated Feb. 4, 2026.