KCK teen discovers dead mother, stepfather; murder-suicide suspected

Kansas City, Kan. police detectives are investigating the discovery of two dead bodies in the 3000 block of South 46th Terrace as a possible murder-suicide.

Police say a teen came home Tuesday afternoon and found her mother and stepfather dead.

Police planned to intercept the teen’s younger brother before he returned home from school so he wouldn’t find a crime scene, said Kansas City, Kan., police spokesman Tom Tomasic.

The discovery was made around 2:40 p.m., Tomasic said.

After being summoned, an officer entered the home and found a gunshot wound in the woman.

Tomasic said the officer retreated before authorities applied for a search warrant to further investigate the scene. Police later confirmed that two people died from gunshot wounds.

Neighbor Sheyenne Billingsley, 20, said she was home most of the day tending to her young child and didn’t hear anything unusual such as an argument or a gunshot. She said she was caught off-guard by the sight of emergency vehicles.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say,” Billingsley said. “I’m just kind of loss for words right now. It’s all really crazy.”

Billingsley’s sister, Kira Lawrence, said the teen who made the discovery is a fellow senior at Turner High School. Kira, 17, said the girl was inside their family’s home as detectives processed the scene.

Kira tried her best to console the girl.

“I gave her a hug when she walked in our house,” Kira said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Billingsley said her father died on Sunday but still found it difficult to relate to what her younger neighbor is feeling.

“I couldn’t even imagine what this girl is going through,” she said.

This story was originally published September 6, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "KCK teen discovers dead mother, stepfather; murder-suicide suspected."