The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Neosho County Sheriff's Office are investigating after a woman was found dead at a rural residence in Chanute.
At approximately 5 p.m. on Tuesday Dec. 6th, deputies from the Neosho County Sheriff's Office were conducting a welfare check a residence in Chanute, after they received information from the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, in North Carolina, that caused them concern for a woman who lived at the residence. Deputies searched the property and located the body of 47-year-old Elaina M. Asprea of Chanute. She was found next to a field, near the residence. Asprea was pronounced dead at the scene.
A person of interest has been developed in this case, and is already in police custody. Asprea's boyfriend, 37-year-old Joseph R. Deluca, was arrested in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Dec. 5, for charges unrelated to this case. He is currently in police custody at the Cumberland County Detention Center.
An autopsy has been scheduled. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME.
