Kansas City woman charged in fatal weekend shooting, alleges gun went off by accident
A woman has been charged in the fatal weekend shooting at an apartment complex in midtown Kansas City.
Mary McDaniel, 64, was charged Monday with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Investigators contend McDaniel shot and killed Terrance Frost, 43, as the two “tussled” over a gun following an argument in McDaniel’s apartment.
Officers responded to the shooting around 2:15 p.m. Sunday at the Georgian Court Apartments, 400 E. Armor Blvd., according to court documents and Kansas City Police Department spokesperson Capt. Jake Becchina.
The responding officers found Frost with a gunshot wound in the hallway just outside McDaniel’s apartment door, according to Becchina. Emergency medical responders arrived shortly after police and pronounced Frost dead.
McDaniel told investigators that she and Frost were familiar with each other and that she had occasionally let him stay in her apartment while she was staying at her fiancee’s home in Raytown, according to court documents. When McDaniel returned from one such visit Sunday, she told investigators, she and Frost argued because a female guest appeared to have left belongings in her home, violating her rule that Frost could not bring guests into the apartment.
As the argument escalated, McDaniel and Frost moved into McDaniel’s bedroom, where a gun had been left on the bed, court documents read. Frost allegedly reached for the gun, but McDaniel got to it first, according to court documents.
A scuffle over the gun allegedly ensued, during which the gun discharged, fatally wounding Frost. McDaniel said the gunshot was accidental, according to court documents.
McDaniel and Frost were convicted felons and prohibited from owning or being around firearms, according to court records.
An associate of McDaniel told investigators that he had previously bought the gun at a pawn shop in Raytown, court documents read, and given it to McDaniel “for protection.”
McDaniel has previous convictions of manslaughter, armed criminal action, first-degree assault and illegal use of a weapon by a felon, according to court records.
After a Tuesday appearance in Jackson County Court, McDaniel is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center, where she is not eligible for bond. She will next appear in court on March 26 for a bond review hearing.
Frost’s death was the 40th homicide reported in Kansas City in 2025, according to data collected by The Star, which includes officer-involved shootings. At the same time last year, 26 homicides had been reported in the city, according to Star data.
Previous reporting by Noelle Alviz-Gransee contributed to this article.
