KBI says Kansas murder victim found dismembered in barrel
BLUE RAPIDS (KSNT) - A newly released report filed in the murder investigation of a Blue Rapids man is shedding light on his death.
Camoran Shoptese, 36, was reported missing on July 4. His body was found several days later in rural Marshall County. James Winkenwader, 31, of Waterville was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Shoptese’s death.
The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The following information comes from an affidavit filed by a KBI investigator:
A Blue Rapids woman called 911 around 10:30 p.m. on July 4. She reported finding Shoptese lying in her front yard after hearing fireworks go off. Responding officers with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and Blue Rapids Police Department arrived to find blood all around the house. Shoptese was not there. The woman told officers she previously had a video surveillance system monitoring the yard, but it had been removed.
On July 6, sheriff investigators interviewed a couple who alleged Winkenwader admitted to the murder, by shooting Shoptese in the chest with a black powder .44 caliber firearm and left his body at a location he called “the farm.” Later that day, deputies arrested Winkenwader for allegedly violating the terms of his bond for a previous arrest on allegations of aggravated assault.
In an interview with KBI investigators, Winkenwader said he had been at the home where Shoptese was last seen the day he went missing and that Shoptese was there making threats. He said Shoptese had a history of violence against the woman who lived at the home, and he had viewed a video of Shoptese beating her.
Winkenwader denied the allegations he had killed Shoptese and disposed of his body. He told investigators he would liked to have shot Shoptese, but it wasn’t possible because all his weapons were locked up following his previous arrest. He admitted to possessing the black powder gun but said it was not functional.
Winkenwader told investigators if he had killed Shoptese, he would not have told anyone about it and would have dumped the body in the river and left the county. He said his cell phone was broken so he threw it off a bridge. He said Shoptese’s disappearance could be a stunt because he had done it before.
KBI investigators searched the property where Shoptese was last seen, Winkenwader’s pickup truck and his residence. They found evidence of blood and a chainsaw missing its bar and chain in the truck. They seized several firearms from Winkenwader’s residence, including a black powder .44 caliber pistol.
Winkenwader later told FBI investigators he had confronted Shoptese at the residence where he was last seen and admitted to beating him. He said he did not know Shoptese’s current whereabouts.
Three days after Shoptese went missing, FBI investigators interviewed the woman who had called 911. She admitted to lying in her initial report and said both Winkenwader and Shoptese were at her home the evening of July 4. She said Winkenwader, armed with a black powder gun, was there to protect her from Shoptese, who was trying to get inside her house.
The woman told investigators she was in the bathroom when she heard yelling and then something fire off. She went outside and saw Shoptese lying on the ground. She went inside to call 911 but when she went back outside Shoptese was gone. She told investigators Winkenwader then pointed the gun at her and said he was “going to prison anyway, nobody was here.”
In a follow up interview with investigators, the woman admitted she had removed the security cameras and taken them to another location following the incident. Video from the day of Shoptese’s disappearance showed showed Winkenwader with a gun and Shoptese collapsing to the ground.
When investigators reviewed Winkenwader’s phone records, they determined he was likely at a property owned by his parents a short time after Shoptese disappeared. Sheriff’s deputies searched the property and found a 55-gallon metal barrel that appeared to contain human remains.
An autopsy revealed the barrel contained Shoptese’s dismembered remains, a chainsaw bar and chain, a projectile, and the clothing Shoptese was wearing in the video leading up to his disappearance.
Winkenwader remains jailed in Marshall County while he awaits trial.
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