KC man's defense for allegedly killing dad: He was told, 'It's going to be you or me.'

A Kansas City man has been charged with first-degree murder after police say he confessed to stabbing his father.

Curtis V. Lee, 39, was arrested by Independence police about 3 a.m. Thursday morning at an apartment unit in the 3500 block of South Lynn Court. Police found two brothers, Charles and Clyde Burtin, dead inside from apparent stab wounds to their upper torsos.

A bloody knife was found in the living room.

A witness said Charles Burtin's son had been living in the residence since Tuesday.

Charging documents filed by police state:

Lee told police his father and uncle fought, and his father stabbed his uncle to death.

Lee said he pulled the knife out of his uncle's body and then went into his father's room. Lee said the two shared a cigarette.

"It's going to be you or me," Lee's father told Lee, according to Lee's account.

Lee then grabbed the knife on the bed and stabbed his father, he told police.

Renea Williams, a neighbor, told The Star she heard a woman she didn't know crying at about 4 a.m.: "They killed my baby. ... Bloody knives, bloody knives!"

Police tried to calm the woman, who was eventually taken away by paramedics.

No apparent defensive wounds were found on the bodies, and police said they appeared to have been repositioned after being killed.

Lee told police he and his uncle had been smoking PCP that night before Lee's father entered the living room.

Mike Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, said the death of Lee's uncle is still under investigation.

"He (Lee) doesn't admit to stabbing the uncle," he said.

Williams, the neighbor, said the two brothers were in their late 50s or early 60s.

One worked at a nearby fast food restaurant and would bring her food from time to time.

"They were average, nice men," Williams said. "They would go to work and go home. They stayed to themselves mostly, but they were very friendly and welcoming.

"...I'm still in shock, I can't believe this happened to someone I knew," she said as she started to break down and cry. "I'm going to miss them really bad."

Lee's bond was set at $250,000. He's also charged with armed criminal action.

This story was originally published April 12, 2018 at 5:38 PM with the headline "KC man's defense for allegedly killing dad: He was told, 'It's going to be you or me.'."