Wrongful death lawsuit seeks $10M after VA cop’s murder-suicide in Kansas City
A new lawsuit accuses Veterans Affairs police officials of negligence that allowed a suspended officer to steal the weapon he used to kill his wife, son and himself in Kansas City’s Northland last year.
Claims in the lawsuit mirror conclusions reached by federal investigators, who determined lax security allowed Jerel McGeachy Sr. to access an arms room at a Leavenworth VA site where he worked as a police officer, after a court order barred him from having a gun. Police took away his law enforcement credentials and shifted him to an administrative role because of the order, but police officials allowed McGeachy Sr. to retain access to the arms room, officials said.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, on Thursday, is being brought by Topeka’s Michelle Smith, the mother of Domonique McGeachy and the grandmother of Jerel McGeachy Jr., who were killed in the double murder-suicide. The lawsuit is seeking $10 million in damages from the federal government.
“This was a tragedy we feel could have been prevented and we look forward to obtaining answers in this case,” said Dustin Van Dyk, an attorney for Smith, in a statement provided to The Star. “We are looking for an explanation and justice for Domonique and Jerel Jr.”
After he was suspended, McGeachy Sr. slipped into the arms room, retrieved his gun and then went to his Northland home, where he shot his wife, son and himself on April 1, 2024. Domonique McGeachy, 38, Jerel McGeachy Jr., 12, and Jerel McGeachy Sr., 38, were found dead in their home in the 8300 block of Northwest 90th Street a few hours later.
VA spokesman Gary Kunich said the agency couldn’t address pending litigation and didn’t address a question from The Star about discipline for police officials.
Both Domonique McGeachy, an advanced practice registered nurse, and Jerel McGeachy Sr., a police officer, were employed by the VA in Leavenworth.
According to the lawsuit, the mother and son were threatened repeatedly by Jerel McGeachy Sr. in the months leading up to their deaths. In March 2024, Domonique McGeachy sought protection orders against her husband in Platte County Circuit Court “due to ongoing violence and threats,” and the court handed down an initial order directing Jerel McGeachy Sr. to not harass, threaten or contact the two. Later that month, the court handed down a full protection order that prohibited him from possessing firearms for one year.
VA officials took McGeachy Sr.’s credentials and firearm and put him in an administrative role, the lawsuit said. They failed though, attorneys wrote, to revoke his access to the armory, where he allegedly stole the weapon he used to kill his family.
Attorneys for Smith wrote that VA officials knew Jerel McGeachy Sr. had “dangerous propensities,” had knowledge that he was a threat to his wife and son and were negligent in allowing him to access his weapon.
Veterans Affairs response
In February, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel confirmed findings that management in the Veterans Affairs Police Department in Eastern Kansas failed to remove McGeachy Sr.’s access to firearms. In a news release, the office said that “physical security deficiencies” in the department were corrected “immediately” and that the VA established added safety measures for staff to take when an officer’s arrest and weapons authority were suspended.
In a letter to President Donald Trump addressing an investigation into concerns at the Leavenworth site, Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger wrote that issues investigators found included that the same key that was used to open the office area could also open the armory, an audible forced entry alarm was not functioning and that a system that controlled access to the armory was not password protected.
In February, the VA relayed that discipline was handed down to or was pending against the department’s chief, deputy chief and a lieutenant, all of whom were no longer in police service, the special counsel’s office said.
“I join the Kansas City community in mourning the tragic deaths of Domonique McGeachy and her son Jerel,” Dellinger said in a statement. “It is heartbreaking to read of twelve-year-old Jerel’s passion and promise, and to think that he and his mother could still be with us if a government agency had followed established safety procedures. Simply heartbreaking.”
The Star reported last year on a federal investigation into the shooting, which criticized police officials for their response to the court orders against McGeachy Sr. in the days leading up to the fatal shooting and faulted them for allowing him access to his gun. The report said even after police learned of the first protection order, they failed to look into previous abuse allegations and relied on personal experiences with the officer to assess the situation.
Investigators in the firearm probe highlighted a series of security issues locally they said created a “climate of risk” surrounding weapons. Investigators even questioned McGeachy Sr.’s hiring after they learned he was fired from a previous law enforcement job in North Carolina.
The incident was significant enough to prompt firearms access training for VA police nationwide last year.
Domonique McGeachy, whose obituary described her as passionate about the issue of domestic violence and who “wanted for herself and others to be whole and healthy,” was remembered as an Army veteran and a loving mother. Her son Jerel McGeachy Jr. was an accomplished public speaker known for commanding a room during dramatic recitations of Martin Luther King Jr. speeches.
