A man who had been on the run for a Lenexa cold case murder was found guilty by a jury in Johnson County District Court.
On Tuesday in Johnson County District Court, a six-day jury trial ended with a guilty verdict for Angel M. Herrera for premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated burglary for the 2005 murder of Maria Morfin-Rojas, 30, of Lenexa.
Judge Christina Dunn Gyllenborg presided over the trial.
In 2005, Herrera fled to Mexico after the body of Morfin-Rojas was discovered stabbed to death, according to a Lenexa Police statement. In 2023, he was arrested in El Salvador and extradited back to Johnson County.
Herrera fled after murder
On Sept. 15, 2005, Lenexa Police officers responded to a report of suspicious activity at an apartment in the 11900 block of West 77th Terrace.
After becoming concerned for Morfin-Rojas’ safety because they had not heard from her for a couple of days, a friend of hers stopped by her basement apartment, according to the Kansas City Star’s original 2005 report.
When Morfin-Rojas did not answer her door, the friend looked in and saw her feet lying on the ground. After Lenexa police arrived, they discovered her body with multiple stab wounds and estimated she had been dead for 24-48 hours, according to the Kansas City Star.
By that time, Herrera, who police identified as Morfin-Rojas’s boyfriend and co-worker, had likely already fled the country, said Officer Danny Chavez, master police officer and spokesperson for the Lenexa Police Department.
He was last seen driving Morfin-Rojas’s 1994 Dodge Caravan, which was later found in Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border, according to the Kansas City Star.
A Lenexa detective was involved with the case
Now-retired Lenexa Police Det. James Rader was credited with helping catch Herrera, Officer Danny Chavez, master police officer and spokesperson for the Lenexa Police Department, said to the Johnson County Post.
At the time of Herrera’s arrest and extradition, Rader was active in with the department.
“You figure 19 years later, somebody could have retired, gotten out of law enforcement,” Chavez said. “But not only (was Rader) still with us, but he still, over those years, continued to investigate the case, whether it was continuing to interview witnesses (or) stay in touch with federal authorities as to this suspect’s location.”
In September 2024, the detective flew to El Salvador to help extradite Herrera to Kansas City and, a day later, to Johnson County to be arraigned.
He retired from Lenexa police in September 2025, Chavez said.
Multiple organizations were involved with the case
Through the the years, multiple organizations participated in the investigation, including Lenexa Police officers and detectives, the Johnson County Crime Lab and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In a statement on Thursday by Johnson County District Attorney Stephen Howe’s Office, they congratulated all of the authorities and witnesses involved in Herrera’s arrest and conviction.
“It was a total team effort that allowed us to achieve justice for the victim’s family and our community,” they stated.
An arrest in a cold case murder like this in Lenexa “unusual,” Chavez said in a previous interview
“In Lenexa, we’re very blessed to not have to deal with homicides very often at all,” he said. “In fact, in some cases, we go years between homicides. So thankfully, a crime of this scale is very rare, but to wait 19 years before a suspect is captured is extremely unusual.”
Family members of Morfin-Rojas were not available for comment.
A request for comment from James Spies, Herrera’s attorney, from the Johnson County Post was not returned.
Following the jury’s verdict, Spies filed a motion for a new trial on the grounds that the court erred in admitting a statement Herrera made to law enforcement during their investigation and an unspecified piece of evidence, according to Johnson County court documents.
What’s next
Herrera is scheduled for sentencing at 2 p.m. on March 26 in Johnson County District Court.
