Defendant in KC trail killing case faces new murder charge in death of woman, 64

A 22-year-old man already facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of two men in south Kansas City was charged Friday in the slaying of a Grandview woman.

Fredrick Demond Scott of Kansas City is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Karen Harmeyer, 64, whose body was found in July in the 12000 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard in Grandview.

An indictment was released Friday. Prosecutors did not disclose any details about Harmeyer’s death.

Scott previously was charged in two killings and named by prosecutors as a person of interest in three others. All five homicides occurred within about one year.

He is charged with murder in the deaths of Steven Gibbons, 57, and John Palmer, 54, and has been identified as a person of interest in the killings of David Lenox, 67, Timothy S. Rice, 57, and Mike Darby, 61.

All five were fatally shot, most from behind, in surprise attacks as they walked dogs, visited parks and, in one case, walked down a city street. The first, Palmer, was killed Aug. 19, 2016, near Indian Creek Trail. The fifth victim, Gibbons, was gunned down after getting off a bus near 67th and Troost Avenue on Aug. 13.

Scott is black and the shooting victims were white. In 2014 Scott threatened to shoot up a school and “kill all white people,” according to court records. His mother said he was demonized by schizophrenia.

Harmeyer also was white, according to the Jackson County medical examiner’s website, which listed her body as unclaimed.

Police said they did not know if the shootings were racially motivated. Baker has said there was no clear motive.

Scott is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 23, according to court records.

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Defendant in KC trail killing case faces new murder charge in death of woman, 64."