Neighbor’s son charged with murder in shooting death first reported as suicide

A neighbor’s 22-year-old son has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Jacob Skowronski, which was originally thought to have been a suicide.

Jackson County prosecutors have charged Deion D. Crum of Kansas City with first-degree murder, or an alternative charge of second-degree murder.

He is also charged with two counts of armed criminal action, first-degree robbery and possession of a controlled substance.

Skowronski’s parents found his body on Feb. 4, which was Super Bowl Sunday, when they stopped by to drop off laundry. They found the door unlocked and their son was on the floor. They saw his hands were underneath him and a pool of blood was next to his head.

Police responded to the apartment at 9804 Hedges Ave. on a reported “dead body/suicide.” Days later, police announced that they were investigating the death as a homicide.

The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Skowronski’s death was caused by multiple gunshot wounds to the head, according to court documents.

A search of Skowronski’s phone found that he had recently gone to Colorado and returned on Feb. 2, two days before his body was found. Based on messages and a photo found on the phone, police thought he had brought marijuana back with him.

Police also found text messages between Skowronski and Crum that suggested they were planning to meet when Skowronski returned home.

On Feb. 22, police arrested Crum on outstanding warrants at an apartment in the 1300 block of East 89th Street. When questioned by police, Crum said he met Skowronski a year earlier and that they were friends.

Police searched the apartment and found, among other things, ammunition that had markings on it that matched spent shell casings found at the crime scene.

Tests on a plastic bag found at the apartment showed both Crum’s and Skowronski’s DNA.

Crum told police that a cousin left the ammunition at the apartment. When police showed him a receipt and said there was possible video surveillance of the purchase, Crum allegedly said he bought the ammunition for his cousin.

His cousin, however, denied that the ammunition was his and denied that he had any involvement in the homicide. Tests showed his DNA was not on the plastic bag.

This story was originally published November 20, 2018 at 9:17 AM.