Kansas Man Convicted of Beating Death of 8-Year-Old Daughter

District Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced Thomas Gatewood, 52, of Wichita, to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 843 months.

SEDGWICK COUNTY— A man with previous convictions for abuse is returning to prison for the rest of his life.

On Wednesday, District Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced Thomas Gatewood, 52, of Wichita, to life in prison with the possibility of parole after more than 70 years for the beating death of his 8-year-old daughter.

In March, Gatewood pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated battery, child abuse, rape, criminal sodomy, aggravated endangerment of a child, aggravated indecent exposure of a child and aggravated intimidation of a witness, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office.

On May 8, 2023, police were dispatched to a residence in the 600 block of N. Oliver in Wichita after receiving a report of an unresponsive 8-year-old girl, according to Officer Kris Gupilan. The child was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Arrest warrant issued for Gatewood in murder of 8-year-old daughter

Wichita police officers used FLOCK technology and Thomas was quickly located and taken into custody within hours of the warrant being issued.

The Missing and Exploited Children Unit and homicide investigators investigated the incident and filed a case with the district attorney's office. Prosecutors say Gatewood repeatedly beat and even stomped on the 8-year-old girl, and an autopsy revealed her heart had burst. Another child in the home was also abused.

Court documents show he had previously been charged with child abuse in Oklahoma in 2009.

Gatewood was scheduled to go to trial in the case on March 11.

-The AP contributed to this report.