Published on July 23, 2025 8:11 am
Last Updated on July 24, 2025 7:08 am
(BARNSHAW)
Police in Mattoon are working with authorities in Topeka, Kansas on a double-murder and child abduction in Topeka.
The investigation began just before 10am Tuesday when Topeka police were called to conduct a welfare check. The bodies of two individuals were found at the location, and the child, tw0-year-old Zave Mendez, was missing.
Mattoon police say they were notified around 12:10pm Tuesday that a child at the center of an AMBER Alert out of Topeka may be inside the Mattoon city limits. Police say they learned the suspect involved in the abduction and double-murder in Topeka, 32-year-old Christopher Barnshaw, was driving in Mattoon.
Police said one of its officers who was on a traffic stop along Route 16 at 12:16pm spotted the suspect’s vehicle pass by. The officer began following the vehicle east towards Charleston.
Multiple officers pulled the vehicle over at the intersection of Route 16 and Beechtree Road. Police took Barnshaw into custody without incident and recovered the missing child, who was in the back seat, unharmed. Officers also recovered a firearm on Barnshaw.
Mattoon police said Barnshaw is being held on aggravated kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon charges in Coles County Jail in Charleston. The department is working to unite the child with a family member. Topeka Police Chief Chris Vallejo said authorities are still determining the relationships involved.
