Kansas man Alexander Lewis accused of strangling pregnant teen girlfriend and throwing her dead body in his trunk Googled ‘snapping necks’ and ‘choke hold’ hours before her murder

A Wichita man used search terms like “choke hold” and “weapons that can kill” on his cell phone before strangling his pregnant girlfriend and keeping her body in the trunk of his car.

A probable cause affidavit released by a Sedgwick County judge shows that Alexander J. Lewis, 22, searched for information about abortion, stun guns, deadly weapons and murder over a two-day period.

The times of the questions correspond to the Aug. 26 death of Zaiylah Quayunna Bronson, 19, who had been dating Lewis since January and was pregnant with a baby boy.

Lewis appeared to be with Bronson in her apartment when he conducted some searches.

Surveillance footage showed the young man parking his car in front of Bronson’s apartment on the evening of August 25. That same evening he made inquiries about narcotic weapons, deadly weapons and ‘weapons that can kill’.

Bronson was last seen alive at 8:13 a.m. on August 26, when the couple was walking a dog in the courtyard of her apartment complex.

Lewis searched the Internet for “choke hold” at 8:02 a.m. and “snapping necks” at 8:51 and 8:52 a.m., followed by “murder” several times between 10:57 and 11:06 a.m.

He conducted multiple searches related to abortion, which is banned in Kentucky after just over 21 weeks. Bronson was about 16 weeks pregnant.

At 10:15 a.m., Lewis left Bronson’s apartment to move his car closer to the door.

He opened the trunk and grabbed a black backpack containing duct tape, bottled water, clothes, flashlights, towels and trash bags before returning inside.

At 10:24 a.m., Lewis was recorded carrying a wrapped blanket with the feet dangling from the bottom and loading it into the trunk. Three minutes later he came out with the backpack and the dog and then drove away.

Lewis returned to the apartment for the last time at 10:42 am.

About 20 minutes later, the 911 dispatch center received a call from an operator in North Carolina reporting a possible homicide in the Wichita area.

Acting on information from a family member of Lewis, Wichita Police Department officers were dispatched to two different locations to check on the victim’s well-being.

Officers were dispatched to the 3900 block of E 17th Street N and the 7600 block of E 21st Street N.

They showed up at the 21st Street address at 11:36 am. After speaking with Lewis, WPD found Bronson’s body in the trunk of the Kia, along with an ax and a shovel.

Officers began CPR until paramedics arrived and declared the 19-year-old dead.

Police tracked Lewis to his apartment using a location ping on his cell phone. They knocked on the door and arrested him when he opened it.

Lewis readily admitted that the teen’s body was in his trunk.

‘I got scared. I was at her house; I didn’t know what to do,” he said, according to the affidavit.

He told officers that Bronson had previously broken up with him on August 25 after a fight.

When he went to her apartment, “she was on the phone with another man,” which angered him. Lewis told police he had been arguing with Bronson all night.

Finally, the 22-year-old said he wanted her to stop talking, so he “grabbed her” with his arm around the neck and squeezed “until she stopped moving.”

He told police he panicked, checked for vital signs and then wrapped her in a blanket he took from her bed when he couldn’t find a heartbeat.

WPD arrested Lewis on a charge of second-degree murder. He has not had a chance to enter a not guilty plea to the murder charge, making him eligible for the death penalty.

Bronson worked at Citi Trends, a clothing chain, before her death.

She was a passionate student-athlete who ran track at Lansing High School and continued the sport at Wichita State, where she was named the 2021 state champion.

Bronson grew up outside Kansas City and moved to Wichita for college two years ago. She was not registered at the time of her death.

Her Instagram bio reads “future educator,” which reflects her hopes to become a teacher.

Comments on social media describe her as ‘the sweetest girl’ and ‘such an amazing soul’, while many others refer to her beautiful voice. Videos uploaded by friends show her singing at a local bar called The Place.

Bronson’s godmother, Dawn Wilson, organized a GoFundMe to help the family with funeral and funeral expenses.

The campaign raised more than $16,000 dollars, exceeding its $15,000 goal.

“Zaiylah, a vibrant soul with dreams, ambitions and love to share, was unexpectedly and tragically taken from us as a result of domestic violence,” a description on the site reads.

Wilson, a survivor of domestic violence herself, responded to Bronson’s most recent Facebook post to express her heartbreak.

‘My beautiful angel left us, gone far too soon. I will never see my God grandson, or know what a giving, caring, loving mother she would have been to him. Neither of them deserved to be taken from us,” Wilson wrote.

‘She will always be with us in spirit. I can still hear her laughing and when I close my eyes I can still see her smile. We’ve had some great times together and that’s exactly what I’ll hold on to.”

Bronson’s mother, Taronza Rowe-Bronson, said KSN TV she spoke to her daughter on the phone almost every day.

“We were close, but like I said, obviously not close enough because I don’t know what led to this, what the signs were,” she said.

“Her compassion for others just helped her through whatever she went through.”