Man found in Kansas City apartment fire Friday died by homicide, police say
The Kansas City Police Department has ruled a man’s death a homicide after he was found by firefighters who were putting out an apartment fire Friday morning.
Fire department crews responded just before 1 a.m. to the 4400 block of Independence Avenue. Upon arrival, they saw smoke coming from a two-story brick building, said Riley Nolan, a fire department spokesman.
Firefighters identified a fire on the second floor in the back of the building, Nolan said. The building was made up of four separate apartments, and the fire was contained to a bedroom in one apartment on the second floor, Nolan said.
Crews brought a handline, or a hose that firefighters can operate by hand, into the second floor apartment.
A man was quickly discovered and removed from the apartment, Noland said. During a patient assessment, medical staff determined that the person was dead.
Investigators with the Kansas City Police Department’s violent crime and bomb and arson units were called to the scene. As part of the preliminary investigation, a medical examiner and detectives were able to determine the manner of death to be a homicide, said Capt. Jake Becchina, a police spokesman.
Based on evidence at the scene, the man’s death may not have been due to natural causes or the fire, Becchina said in a news release.
Searches throughout the rest of the building came back all clear, Nolan said. No other injuries were reported.
Crews used two handlines to extinguish the fire, which was put out by 1:12 a.m., Nolan said.
Detectives are working to identify the man who died while investigators gather evidence at the scene.
The killing is Kansas City’s 118th homicide this year, which is the same number of killings at this time last year, according to data maintained by The Star.
Anyone with information about the man’s death is urged to contact detectives at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 7:06 AM.
