Man accused of killing sister in Overland Park tried to buy gun hours before: charges
A man accused of strangling his sister in Overland Park tried to buy a rifle a few hours before the January 14 killing, according to court documents released Thursday.
Parker Mays, 27, was charged January 16 with first-degree murder, accused of killing his 22-year-old sister Layne R. Mays at their family’s home in the 5500 block of West 148th Terrace.
According to an affidavit filed in Johnson County District Court, Mays went to a store in Lawrence hours before the homicide and told employees his family was dead and he needed a firearm to protect himself.
An hour after he left the store, Mays’s van was captured on surveillance video pulling into the driveway of his family’s home. The van left about 20 minutes later.
Overland Park police were called to the residence at 1:38 p.m.
Layne Mays was found on the living room floor. She was declared dead at the scene. An autopsy showed she died from manual strangulation, though she had also suffered deep lacerations, the affidavit said.
Police found a broken vase on its side on a coffee table.
A witness said she had left the house about 10 a.m. When she returned, she found Layne Mays on the floor. The witness said police needed to find Parker Mays because she believed he was involved.
Another witness called police to report she had seen someone throw a boot, gloves and a floor mat out of a van near Interstate 435 and Kansas 10 highway.
Police found the items and some of them appeared to have blood on them.
Parker Mays was arrested a few hours later at his Lawrence home.
Blood was found on the driver’s door of his vehicle, the affidavit said.
Parker Mays denied that he was involved in his sister’s death.
An attorney for Parker Mays has not responded to a request for comment.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 10:52 AM.
