Manhunt underway for one of three men charged in Independence killing

A manhunt was underway Sunday for a Hermann, Mo., man charged with murder in a bloody home invasion in Independence.

Nathan Hendricks, 46, is one of three men charged in the death of 72-year-old William Domann. Two other suspects, Xavier Otero and Onelio Garcia, both 32 and from Kansas City, Kan., have been arrested and are in custody.

Hendricks may have fled to the Columbia or Hermann areas of Missouri. Police warned he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Police described Hendricks as being 6-foot-4 and 320 lbs. He has blue eyes and graying hair. He may be with Sheila Casey, 48, of Kansas City. Casey is considered a person of interest in the case. Casey is 5-foot-8 and weighs 130 lbs.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Hendricks, Otero and Garcia with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary.

Police found Domann in his bedroom on the morning of Oct. 30. He had been restrained and shot multiple times in the head and arm.

According to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office:

A friend of Domann’s first called police around 10:30 a.m. Oct. 30. Domann’s door was kicked in, the caller said, and Domann hadn’t responded when the person had called for him outside his home.

In the southeast bedroom, police officers found Domann. Burns indicated he had been shot at close range. Black zip ties and a cellphone were found near his hands.

Outside, blood stained the front porch and nearby grass. Officers followed a trail of blood to the backyard, into some woods and on to the parking lot of an Army Corps of Engineers office south of Domann’s home. There, officers found a black zip tie matching those found in Domann’s room.

Inside the home, officers also found a trail of blood that didn’t appear to belong to Domann. A DNA comparison test conducted by the Johnson County Crime Lab confirmed this. Blood from the kitchen, front porch and the Army Corps sidewalk all matched a previous offender: Otero.

Army Corps surveillance footage confirmed that a male, limping and seemingly injured, walked from the south end of the parking lot that morning. After the man gestured, a white pickup truck with two other passengers drove up and they left.

The man who got into the car matched the appearance of booking photos of Otero. Charging documents allege that the two other men in the car were Hendricks and Garcia.

A mercenary?

Domann’s girlfriend told police that Hendricks was her ex-boyfriend and had been threatening to “rough” Domann up. A person had asked Domann to hide a Corvette that Hendricks had stolen. Hendricks wanted it back.

One person told police that Hendricks was a “mercenary” and had talked of killing people in the past. Another woman said that Domann had told her that Hendricks threatened him often.

Otero’s girlfriend told police she woke up to the sound of Garcia banging on the door of the camper where she stayed with Otero. Otero had been shot, she said Garcia told her.

Police also interviewed a man who owned the home where the camper was parked. The man also woke up to the sound of Garcia shouting that Otero had been shot.

The man told police that’s when he noticed his gun was missing. He was later told that Otero stole the gun from him so he could “do a robbery.” He also overheard Otero and Garcia talking about “killing the guy that was on the news.”

The man confirmed that Hendricks had been on his property with Otero and had driven the white truck matching the surveillance footage.

Otero is arrested

Police issued an arrest warrant for Otero on Nov. 2. They found him at a Kansas City, Kan., residence and took him to the Wyandotte County Detention Center.

There, Otero would tell police that Garcia and Hendricks contacted him about robbing somebody of $100,000. He took a gun from his roommate and left in Hendricks’ white truck.

Hendricks dropped off Garcia and Otero at Domann’s home and went to park the car. Otero said that he and Garcia forced the door open and went to Domann’s bedroom.

Otero and Garcia began to wrestle with Domann. Then, Otero told police, he heard a gun go off and “his leg felt hot.” He ran out of the room toward the sliding back door but couldn’t get it open. He ran to the front door and exited the house.

He ran through the woods to the parking lot, where Hendricks and Garcia picked him up.

He claimed that he never shot the gun he had taken from his roommate and that the shots came from Garcia’s gun.

He said that after he had been shot, he heard several more gun shots.

Independence police asked anyone with information about Hendricks or Casey to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477. A cash reward may be available for information that leads to an arrest.

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Manhunt underway for one of three men charged in Independence killing."