Woman sentenced to ‘Hard 50’ for fatal shooting at Wichita bikini bar
Autumn Metcalf's updated booking photo
Click here for updates on this story
WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — A 34-year-old woman has been sentenced life in prison for her role in a deadly shooting outside of a Wichita adult club.
A jury convicted Autumn Metcalf in August 2024 of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit murder. Judge Eric Williams on Monday sentenced her to life with parole eligibility after 50 years for the murder charge and 61 months for the solicitation charge. The sentences will run consecutively.
Metcalf was accused in the August 24, 2020, shooting death of 33-year-old Joe Wheeler III at Baby Dolls, a “bikini bar” at 4900 North Arkansas.
Officers responded that night to a shooting and found Wheeler dead in his vehicle.
Following her arrest two years after the shooting, court documents revealed that Wheeler and Metcalf both worked at the club. Witnesses, including employees, told investigators they heard Wheeler and Metcalf arguing for more than two hours.
An employee said Metcalf called four to five people. At one point, witnesses said she described Wheeler to the other person on the phone. A witness said Metcalf told someone on the phone, “Yeah, he’s still here. Come back up.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
