Charges are filed in 1988 double killing in Kansas City, Kan.

A Wichita man has been accused of slaying two people in Kansas City, Kan., 28 years ago.

Wyandotte County prosecutors charged Melvin L. Shields with two counts of first-degree murder in the April 1988 deaths of Jolene Jones and Steve Ray.

Someone fatally shot Jones, 27, and Ray, 33, in the area of 19th Street and Argentine Boulevard.

Jones and Ray were longtime friends who had a daughter together, according to news accounts at the time of their deaths. He was the pastor of a Baptist church, and she was a choir director.

The day before their bodies were found, Jones and Ray had met for lunch.

Their bodies were found in a secluded area near the Kansas River. Her purse was found several blocks away, and the car she had been driving that day later was found abandoned in Kansas City, Kan.

The initial investigation by Kansas City, Kan., police and the Metro Squad failed to identify a suspect, prosecutors said.

But recently Kansas City, Kan., police detectives and the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office conducted a comprehensive case review, which led to the charges.

Prosecutors did not say what evidence prompted the filing of charges.

Shields, 48, is being held in the Sedgwick County jail in Wichita.

His bond is set at $1 million. Authorities are making arrangements to have him brought to Wyandotte County.

Shields has a lengthy criminal record, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records.

He was sentenced to prison a few months after the double killing for unrelated convictions of burglary and theft, according to prison records.

He later was convicted of other crimes, including aggravated battery, unlawful possession of a firearm and aggravated burglary.

Shields most recently served time in prison for attempted aggravated battery and was paroled last August, according to the records.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Charges are filed in 1988 double killing in Kansas City, Kan.."