Mom’s embezzlement allegation against son led to Brookside murder-suicide, police say

A man shot and killed his mother in her Brookside home Tuesday after confronting her about an allegation he embezzled money from her, police said Wednesday.

Investigators have ruled that the shooting that happened about 6:30 p.m. in the 5700 block of Central Avenue was a murder-suicide. They identified one of the victims as 64-year-old Nicki Alexopoulos. The son’s name has not been released. The son also allegedly shot a friend of the mother, leaving her in critical condition.

Investigators said the son of Alexopoulos went to the home and confronted his mother after she learned that he had embezzled a large sum of money from her, said Officer Darin Snapp, a police spokesman.

A friend of the woman was at the house speaking with Alexopoulos when the son arrived. The man shot Alexopoulos as the friend ran outside. He then shot the friend several times, leaving her in the front yard.

The son went back inside the home and shot himself.

Police arrived and found the friend outside the house with gunshot wounds. She was taken to a hospital and remained in critical condition Wednesday morning.

Inside the house, police found the body of Alexopoulos as well as the body of her son.

Snapp said investigators have not determined how much money had been stolen or when the thefts began.

Police had not been to the residence prior to the shooting on Tuesday.

Alexopoulos’s Facebook page shows several photographs of a smiling woman who was a doting mom and grandma. A photo of her and a younger woman has the caption, “I (heart) MOM.”

Investigators plan to speak with relatives and friends of Alexopoulos to gather more information about the shooting.

Alexopoulos is the city’s 96th homicide of the year. So far in 2016, Kansas City has had 97 homicides. There have been 157 homicides in the Kansas City area this year.

The deaths are two of several murder-suicides in recent months in Kansas City.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 7:40 AM with the headline "Mom’s embezzlement allegation against son led to Brookside murder-suicide, police say."