Jeffrey King, accused of 1st degree murder of Northland neighbor, awaits trial date
Some 50 friends and family of Chris Wells —a 41-year-old father of four who was gunned down Jan. 12 in the middle of his Northland street — waited patiently in court Thursday morning to see if the bond would be reduced for Jeffrey Traviss King, the neighbor accused of Wells’ alleged murder.
They left disappointed.
A trial date for King, 42, has yet to be set.
King, with his hands shackled at his waist, and dressed in black and white prison garb and orange crocs, stood with one of his two defense attorneys, Nicholas Bates, of Bates & Merryman Law Firm, while a bond hearing was rescheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 10, before Judge Shane T. Alexander in Division One of Clay County Circuit Court, at 3:30 p.m.
Thursday was the second court appearance for King who, on Jan. 12, was arrested outside his home in the 2400 block of Northeast 78th Street, in the Clay County portion of Kansas City.
Charged with one count each of first degree murder and armed criminal action, King is in Clay County custody in lieu of payment of bond, currently set at $5 million cash. He has pleaded not guilty.
Neighbors, both in support of Wells and also fearful that King might receive a reduced bond and be released, came to court in force. On Thursday, 10 family members and friends sat in the second and third rows of the courtroom, wearing black T-shirts reading “#JusticeForChris” and marked with the dates of his birth and death “1/28/84 to 1/12/26.”
Wells’ killing has shaken the middle-class Maple Woods Estates neighborhood where residents insist that, for some eight years, King embarked on a mission to torment and antagonize neighbors with whom he was in conflict.
Over the course of years, they said, he purposefully vexed neighbors by packing his driveway and heaping his lawn with belongings such a pontoon boat, an RV, a motorcycle, patio furniture, cord wood, a deer stand and large banners with messages including, “Show Me Your Butthole.”
He erected floodlights and speakers to blast light and music at particular neighbors. He parked junk cars around the block, hindering traffic, or leaving them in front of neighbors’ post boxes. When neighbors complained, they say, he would respond with curses, including at Kirsten Wells, Wells’ spouse.
King in 2025 was found guilty of property damage after video captured him in Wells’ driveway wielding a hammer to smash the side mirror on Wells’ truck. Convicted in November, King was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but it was suspended. He was given two years probation under specific conditions. The first was that he have no contact with Kirsten Wells. He was to stay away from the Wellses’ house, complete 10 hours of community service, and pay $303.20 in restitution to the Wellses within six months.
Neighbors say that, at 7:34 a.m. on Jan. 12, Wells was killed when he confronted King in defense of his wife. King’s attorney, Matthew Merryman, however, has suggested that he may employ a “stand your ground” defense, noting that King was “ambushed” at his home.
The narrative, as related in the Kansas City Police’s probable cause, said that Wells and King got in an altercation after Wells, called at work by his wife, returned home. His wife had said that King had approached the Wells’ home in what was believed to be a violation of his “no contact” order and threw a tarp or blanket onto their front lawn.
Wells, the statement said, confronted King at his home. A fight spilled into the street. Wells, video would show, punched King, perhaps as many as three times. As the two separated, gunshots were then heard echoing across the block.
Two juvenile witnesses told police that they watched from their car as King stood over Wells and shot him in the back as he lay face down in the street.
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Police arrested King at his home shortly before 8 a.m.
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 2:04 PM.
