Prosecutors charge two people in connection with 2015 shooting death

Jackson County prosecutors have charged two people in connection with the October 2015 shooting death of a 23-year-old man found inside a south Kansas City apartment.

Rachel N. Ryce, 28, of Blue Springs, and Shawn L. Burkhalter, 28, of Kansas City, each face charges of second-degree murder, robbery and armed criminal action in the Oct. 4, 2015, slaying of Anthony Johnson of Kansas City.

The Johnson case began when officers went to the apartment complex in the 8400 block of Hillcrest Road around 4 p.m. Oct. 4 in response to shots being fired. They were unable to find a victim and left a short time later.

They received another call roughly four hours later from family members who found Johnson’s body in the apartment. This time the officers went to the 8300 block of Hillcrest Road.

The shooting took place while Burkhalter was in custody on a parole violation. Prosecutors said Burkhalter ordered the slaying from jail because Johnson had told investigators that Burkhalter had been involved in another incident.

Prosecutors said that before the shooting, Ryce messaged Johnson on Facebook to see if he was home. Ryce told Johnson that she was going to visit him but never showed up.

Three other people have been charged in connection to the homicide. Nickayla B. Jones, 21, of Blue Springs, and Autry Hines, 25, of Kansas City, each face second-degree murder charges. Joshua T. Nesbitt, 22, of Crowder, Miss., was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting.

According to court records, neighbors told investigators they heard five gunshots and saw a man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and two women running from the area. They ran to a trail in the woods behind the apartment that led up a hill to another parking lot located in the same apartment complex, neighbors told police.

Investigators later found multiple .223 rifle shell casings near Johnson’s body.

Family members said an Apple computer and a PlayStation 3 game console were missing from the apartment. Johnson had only lived at the apartment for two weeks. Investigators later recovered those items at a pawn shop.

Burkhalter had been arrested Oct. 2, 2015, on a parole violation.

While he was in the Jackson County Detention Center, investigators listened to recorded phone conversations Burkhalter had with others connected to the shooting. Prosecutors said that even though Burkhalter was in custody at the time of the homicide, he was the leader of the group that followed his instructions.

Burkhalter denied to investigators that he had anything to do with Johnson’s homicide. Burkhalter said he and Johnson were like family and had known each other for a long time. He also denied directing anyone to harm Johnson or to cover up evidence.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Prosecutors charge two people in connection with 2015 shooting death."