Already in prison, Kansas City man charged in 2014 killing of Sudanese immigrant
A Kansas City man was charged with murder Monday in the 2014 fatal shooting of a Sudanese immigrant who moved to the United States five years before his death.
Kyle D. Whitley, 30, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of 38-year-old Alfadil Sabil.
Sabil was found on the night of May 4, 2014, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in his apartment in northeastern Kansas City. He and the suspect were seen on surveillance footage fighting earlier that day outside of the building in the 100 block of White Avenue.
A witness identified the suspect on the video as Whitley, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s office said in a statement Monday.
Cameras inside the apartment building later showed Whitley walking up to Sabil’s door, authorities said. He listened outside the door momentarily, cocked his rifle and began firing, according to charging documents.
A cloud of smoke could be seen as bullets struck the wall and door, a detective wrote. The shooter then ran out of the building.
Whitley got into a black car with someone who drove him there, police said. After hearing the gunfire, the owner of the car asked Whitley what happened and Whitely responded by threatening him, according to court documents.
Detectives used a license plate number provided by a witness to find the registered owner of the car. During an interview in the police department’s seventh-floor homicide unit, the owner acknowledged knowing the suspect as “KD” when shown several photographs of Whitley, according to a probable cause statement.
Investigators obtained cellphone records of a woman Whitley was seen with before the altercation. Those documents showed she spoke with an inmate at the Jackson County jail, detectives said.
During one call, the woman told the inmate she was with his brother, Kyle, and described the fight, according to court documents. She also said someone was killed at the apartment.
When the inmate asked if any of his relatives died, according to court records, the woman responded: “Not dead, did it.”
Prosecutors requested Whitley be held on a $300,000 cash bond.
Whitley remained incarcerated Monday at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, where he is serving eight years for domestic assault, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with a motor vehicle, Department of Corrections records show.
He did not yet have an attorney listed in the murder case who could be reached for comment.
Having legally immigrated to America from Sudan, Sabil was staying with friends in the apartment when he was killed.
