Weeks after man found with fractured skull in Westport, family still seeks justice
Weeks after 22-year-old Erik Kelly suffered a skull fracture from an apparent attack in Kansas City’s Westport neighborhood Halloween weekend, police have yet to make an arrest.
But as police assert the investigation is ongoing, his family says they’re still seeking justice.
Kelly, a recent college graduate of Baker University, was found bleeding from his head in an alley in the 4100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue shortly before midnight on Nov. 1 by a Good Samaritan. Officers and emergency responders arrived around 11:30 p.m., and found him with what they said was an unknown injury.
Jacob Becchina, spokesperson with the Kansas City Police Department, said in a statement Tuesday that detectives are still working to determine if what happened to Erik Kelly was accidental or done on purpose by one or more people. They have partnered with Westport security and other businesses to obtain any available footage as part of their ongoing investigation.
Rachael Kelly told the Star Tuesday that a forensic nurse planned to send pictures and scans of her son’s injuries to KCPD. His family has also reached out to victims advocacy at KCPD, and are waiting to hear back.
According to Becchina, detectives will work with doctors and medical staff to gather all medical records and information relevant to the investigation. They also hope to interview Erik Kelly about what he remembers from that night.
But for Kelly’s family, there remain more questions than answers.
What happened that night, his injuries
Erik Kelly was visiting Westport for the first time that night with some new friends he’d just made in Lawrence the week before, his family said. The group had planned a bar crawl that started at 10 p.m. and were planning on staying at an AirBnb within walking distance, but told Erik Kelly’s family they lost him around 11 p.m.
Kelly, who lives in Baldwin City, Kansas, had just started a job with Shamrock Financial two weeks before, his family said.
As a result of the incident, he sustained bruising around his shoulders, multiple brain bleeds and a fractured skull. His mother Rachael Kelly, who lives in San Diego, originally found out he was in the hospital when she called him that night and a neurosurgeon answered and informed her he was in his second surgery.
Doctors, who told Rachel Kelly the injuries were likely caused by blunt force trauma, said rehabilitation, motor skill assessments and speech assessment could take months to a year. Part of Erik Kelly’s skull will need to be replaced with a prosthetic once the swelling goes down.
Erik Kelly and his family left Kansas City to go back to San Diego Wednesday for rehabilitation. He can speak to police, but his mother said he does not remember what happened that night.
Though they are moving back home, Rachel Kelly says they’ll continue to press for answers from afar.
“I just don’t want another family to go through this in the end,” she said. “Hopefully we can push for them to do better at Westport and keep people safe.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM.
