Man charged with murder after allegedly shooting parents in Northland motel: Prosecutor
A Kansas City man has been charged with murder in the shooting of his parentsin a Northland motel room over the weekend.
Jason Sessoms, 20, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal actions in the death of his father, 42-year-old Marvin Sessoms, and his mother, 38-year-old Maleeka Sessoms.
Officers responded to the Extended Stay Kansas City motel in the 4300 block of North Corrington Avenue around 3:45 a.m. on March 29, where they discovered the Sessoms unresponsive with gunshot wounds. Paramedics pronounced the husband and wife dead at the scene, according to Kansas City Police Department spokesperson Capt. Jake Becchina.
Jason Sessoms was arrested on March 29 in Michigan on a burglary charge, court documents read. When Michigan police interviewed his 10-year-old brother, who was traveling with Jason, the juvenile allegedly told officers that Jason had killed their parents earlier that day.
Marvin and Maleeka Sessoms had reportedly left Kansas City Wednesday to visit Marvin’s sister in Georgia, according to court documents. Marvin’s sister filed a missing persons report with the Gladstone, Missouri Police Department Friday, after the couple stopped contacting her and Marvin’s phone was found in Illinois, court documents read.
The family reportedly drove part of the way to Georgia but returned to Kansas City to retrieve a school laptop belonging to their younger son, according to court documents. Marvin’s sister also told investigators that part of the motivation behind the planned trip was that Jason believed someone in Kansas City had “put out a hit on him,” court documents read, which was also why Marvin and Maleeka had been staying at Extended Stay Kansas City.
When a relative attempted to contact Maleeka on March 28, Jason answered her cellphone, according to court documents. Video surveillance captured at the hotel show Jason and his young brother packing items into a black Mitsubishi car and driving away that night.
Jason Sessoms initially told police that a man had entered the motel room and killed his parents, according to court documents.. He then told investigators that he had shot his parents in their sleep after realizing he was missing some money, which he believed his mother spent on renting the motel room, court documents read.
Jason Sessoms is currently being held in the Van Buren County Detention Center in Paw Paw, Michigan, according to the Clay County prosecutor’s office. Plans for his extradition to Missouri have not yet been determined.
Marvin and Maleeka Sessoms’ deaths were the 34th and 35th homicides reported in Kansas City in 2025, according to data collected by The Star. At the same time last year, 30 homicides had been reported in the city.
Previous reporting by Kendrick Calfee contributed to this article.
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 8:36 PM.
