Inset left: Joshua Orlando (Sedgwick County Jail). Inset right: Ivy Unruh (GoFundMe). Background: The Wichita, Kan., apartment complex where Unruh was fatally shot (Google Maps).
A Kansas man could spend decades in prison after admitting to fatally shooting his estranged wife during a dispute reportedly tied to a video game console, in a relationship authorities say had been shadowed by prior abuse.
Joshua Orlando, 29, pleaded guilty this week in Sedgwick County to first-degree felony murder and aggravated kidnapping in connection with the death of 25-year-old Ivy Unruh, according to court records.
The fatal shooting took place at the Remington Apartments on East 37th Street North in Wichita, the Wichita Police Department said.
Police and sheriff’s deputies were called to the complex on the morning of April 17. Shortly after 8 a.m., officers located Unruh near “Building 5” with a gunshot wound to her upper body. A firearm was found nearby. Unruh was taken to a hospital, where she died several days later from her injuries.
Court documents recently obtained by Hutchinson-based CBS affiliate KWCH state that Orlando was the person who called 911 after the shooting. During that call, investigators say, he made several statements that appeared to describe the moments leading up to the violence.
“My wife and I got into a fight,” the caller said at one point, according to the documents. “She hit me … with a …”
Although the caller’s explanation trailed off, the man identified in the records as Orlando continued recounting what had happened that morning.
“I came to drop some stuff off and she got really mad that I was there,” the caller says, according to a probable cause affidavit. “We were arguing and she hit me. She hit me and I tried to defend myself. I thought she was going to swing again with…”
Again, the words trailed off — but the man later admits to shooting Unruh.
“I shot her, I shot her,” the caller says, according to the affidavit.
As law enforcement arrived, Orlando was placed into handcuffs but implored emergency medical services to help Unruh, authorities said. Amid these last-ditch requests, the defendant, through tears, allegedly said: “I know she didn’t mean to hurt me.”
The charging document describes the crime scene in detail.
The victim was lying on her back with her head on the bottom step of a stairway with blood coming out of her nose, law enforcement said.
On Unruh’s right shoulder was strapped a black backpack; her right hand clutched a plastic bag containing a Nintendo Switch gaming console, and on her left arm was her purse.
She was apparently ready to leave.
On the left side of her body, Orlando had apparently dropped a black Sig Sauer P365 semiautomatic 9 mm handgun, authorities said.
Investigators obtained a statement from the leasing agent at the victim’s apartment complex, who said that when Unruh rented the unit, she said she wanted to get away from her abusive ex and was interested in the building’s security features.
The leasing agent went on to say that Unruh had asked her not to contact her former landlord because that person was a friend of her ex, according to the affidavit.
In August 2025, Unruh filed for divorce, records cited by the TV station show. Notably, in one section of the divorce petition regarding distribution of assets, Unruh said Orlando would maintain possession of his pistol while she would maintain possession of the Switch.
Orlando, for his part, said the impending divorce had multiple causes, including that Unruh had cheated on him, according to police.
In the days leading up to the shooting, the defendant said he contacted the victim about a study night since they both attended classes and could share notes, according to law enforcement. That invitation, however, led to yet another argument and, finally, a decision that their relationship issues could not be fixed — and with plans for Orlando to leave some of Unruh’s property at her door.
Instead, on the day of the shooting, the defendant went to Unruh’s apartment and waited at the foot of the stairs with the Switch in a bag, Orlando told police, according to the affidavit. Then, when she saw him, she allegedly said: “Holy s—!” and made an angry face.
The man handed over the console and a final argument ensued, he said. Then, at some point, Unruh allegedly “swung the bag with the Nintendo and struck him on the left side of his face.”
Orlando said the blow hurt, made him see lights, and brought back an unwanted memory of a time when Unruh attacked him in reprisal with a replica Zelda sword after he threw a slipper at her.
After being hit, Orlando pulled out his handgun, used his left arm to cover his face, and “blind fired” a single round, according to the affidavit.
Now, the defendant faces a minimum sentence of 38 years and nine months in state prison before he is eligible for parole.
Orlando is slated to be sentenced on Aug. 28.
