KC man charged in baseball bat beating death on Christmas Eve

A Kansas City man has been charged in the baseball bat beating death of another man on Christmas Eve.

Jackson County prosecutors on Friday charged James E. Johnson with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the beating death of Darren Kirk.

Kirk was found dead early Christmas morning outside of a house in the 3300 block of East 20th Street where Johnson lived.

Johnson, 38, was questioned by Kansas City police on Thursday and initially denied being home at the time of the killing.

But according to court documents, he later admitted to beating Kirk with the bat for over an hour.

He and another person then carried the body outside, according to the documents.

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 2:16 PM with the headline "KC man charged in baseball bat beating death on Christmas Eve."