Carlos Gallegos

A 30-year-old Wyandotte County man has been found guilty of murdering former Shawnee Mission North student Monica Chavira last summer.

A jury last week found Carlos Gallegos guilty of first-degree murder in the strangling death of Chavira at the Oak Tree Inn at 501 Southwest Blvd. on July 5, 2016. Chavira, then 18, lived in Mission and had attended SM North before withdrawing in March 2015.

A sentencing hearing in the case is set for Friday, Sept. 15. Under Kansas law, he faces life in prison.