Truck driver charged with murder of prostitute after leaving shoes beneath motel bed

A truck driver is facing murder charges after allegedly murdering a prostitute in a motel room and leaving behind his shoes. 

33-year-old  Stephanie Renee Duran was allegedly murdered by truck driver Ricky L. Hollins Jr. on October 21st, 2020 in the Budget Motel located at 1315 S. Broadway in Wichita, Kansas. 

According to The Wichita Eagle, Hollins parked his truck in a lot north of the motel and negotiated with Duran for a $40 oral sex encounter along with his friend, an unnamed man who was riding in the semi truck with Hollins. 

The unnamed friend told police that they had arrived at the motel for the “purpose of them both to have sex with the same female, but one after the other.”

Hollins entered the room with Duran first, where he says neither got undressed for the encounter. When he was done, Hollins says Duran “walked him to the door and he ‘jogged’ to the semi” to rejoin his friend. 

However, the unnamed friend told police that “About twenty minutes later, Ricky ran back to the truck” and “told him that he’d been robbed by three unknown males and that he’d been maced.”

Motel video footage shows Hollins and Duran speaking with Hollins’ friend just after 9 p.m., and shows Hollins and Duran entering the motel room at around 9:19 p.m. The footage then shows Hollins running barefoot from the room at around 9:43 p.m., carrying his pants on his right arm. 

Duran’s body was discovered inside of the room by the motel owner the next morning. She was found face-down on the floor and was naked below the waist. Her body also showed signs of being beaten and choked, and authorities discovered a blood-covered glass candle holder on the floor. 

Officers also discovered a can of mace, drug paraphernalia, a used condom, and a pair of men’s sneakers, size 10, beneath the bed. 

“He (Hollins) claimed the shoes he was wearing at the time of his arrest were the same shoes he’d worn into the motel room,” court documents say. 

Hollins is currently in the Sedgwick County Jail on $500,000 bond, and is facing charges of first-degree premeditated murder and patronizing a prostitute.