KC teen allegedly searched for ‘Scary movies where kids kill parents’ before slayings

A 15-year-old Kansas City girl charged in the fatal shootings of her parents allegedly had searched for “Scary movies where kids kill parents.”

The Jackson County prosecutor announced Monday that Daejona M. Holmes has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the slaying of her parents, Kinderly Holmes, 37, and Brian Starr, 38, in their Kansas City home on April 9.

Daejona Holmes also faces two counts of armed criminal action and one count of tampering with physical evidence.

According to court documents, police responded to a 911 call the evening of April 9 on reports of a shooting at a home in the 5000 block of Belmeade Road.

Upon arrival, officers entered through the back of the house, where they found Kinderly Holmes in an upstairs bedroom and Starr downstairs by the front door. Both were dead.

The Jackson County Medical Examiner, who ruled their deaths a homicide, found that Kinderly Holmes was shot once in the stomach and Star was shot twice in the torso and once in the mouth.

Their daughter Daejona Holmes allegedly had called 911 from a different location and told a dispatcher that a robbery had occurred and both of her parents were shot. When officers contacted her at a fast food restaurant, she allegedly told them that her father had shot her mother and then she had shot her father.

During their investigation, police found in a backpack a handwritten drawing of stick figures with one figure shooting another. The figures were allegedly labeled “Dad” and “Me.” A third stick figured had X’s as eyes and “blood” around it.

Detectives obtained a search warrant and when they searched the data from Daejona Holmes’ phone, it showed a recent search for “Scary movies where kids kill parents,” according to court records. It also showed rap lyrics about wanting her father dead, according to court records.

Detectives also found a video from Feb. 15 that showed Daejona Holmes dancing in her bedroom while holding a handgun.

According to court records:

On the night of the shooting, police questioned her at Police Headquarters. She told police that she was warming up macaroni in the microwave when she heard her parents arguing. She then heard a gunshot.

As she was headed upstairs, she passed her father as he was going downstairs. She told police that when she went into her room, she found her mother deceased with the handgun lying next to her.

Daejona Holmes allegedly told police that she picked up the gun and walked downstairs. She allegedly said she shot her father as he walked toward her. She ran from the house and when she realized she didn’t have her cell phone, she ran back and grabbed both her and her mother’s cell phones. She also ran upstairs and grabbed a house key.

She told police that as she ran to the fast food restaurant she tossed the handgun in a neighbor’s yard. She allegedly told police that the reason she reported that there had been a robbery was because she was scared.

During the investigation, a neighbor said three shots were heard about 6 p.m. When police searched the call data on the phone, it showed that nine calls were made between 6:25 p.m. and 7:25 p.m., when the 911 call was made. Several of the calls were to a friend who told police he met her near the fast food restaurant.

The friend told police that Daejona Holmes said she needed help and that her parents had been shot. He convinced her to call 911.

When detectives asked Daejona Holmes about the calls and why it took an hour to call 911, she allegedly couldn’t provide a reason.

This story was originally published August 6, 2018 at 2:12 PM.