KCK police search for clues in the killing of a young Overland Park mother

The Overland Park woman found shot to death Tuesday in Kansas City, Kan., was the single mother of a 1-year-old boy.

On Wednesday, her brother described Kelsey Ewonus, 22, a graduate of Olathe East High School, as a smart and beautiful young woman with a gentle heart.

“We want her to be remembered for all the good she did,” Jordan Ewonus said. “For all of the love and joy she brought to our family.”

She was found dead Tuesday afternoon inside a car parked in an out-of-the-way area just west of State Line Road and a few blocks north of University of Kansas Hospital.

Kansas City, Kan., police detectives are investigating her death as a homicide.

She was alone when police found her, according to her brother.

Her son recently turned 1, and her Facebook profile page features a photo of him with birthday cake smeared on his face.

“I know she loved her son more than anything else in the world,” her brother said.

Kelsey Ewonus had some troubles in her past, according to court records in Johnson County.

She was the victim in a domestic battery case filed against a young man in 2012 and also sought a protection order against him, according to court records.

That man no longer was involved in her life, her brother said Wednesday.

In 2013, Kelsey Ewonus was charged in Johnson County with battery and was placed on probation after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, the records show.

But her probation was revoked and extended in April 2014 after she tested positive for using drugs, according to the records.

Kansas City, Kan., police are asking anybody with information about the killing to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 11:35 AM with the headline "KCK police search for clues in the killing of a young Overland Park mother."