Kansas City homeless woman charged with second degree murder for May stabbing
A Kansas City homeless woman was charged Friday in the May stabbing death of a man she told police she had been dating, according to a news release from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Ilene Davis, 48, was charged Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court with second degree murder and armed criminal action. She is accused of killing 46-year-old Howard West, who was also homeless, in Northeast Kansas City last month.
West’s body was found last month on the sidewalk near Independence and Forest avenues.
According to charging documents both West and Ilene were homeless but known to the area where West was found.
When West was found, prosecutors allege, a trail of blood was seen leading from his body to an RV in a parking lot at Independence and Virginia avenues. The RV, police said, was used by the homeless community for shelter and sexual meetings.
According to charging documents witnesses who spoke to police said they had seen Davis and West in the RV that night. The witnesses said they were sleeping in the RV and woke up to “tussling” between Davis and West as they pushed one another.
One of the witnesses said she heard Davis yelling “you raped me” and “you stole from me” before leaving the trailer with blood on her. The other witness said Davis had an object that appeared to be a knife in her hand, court records said. Both left the trailer naked.
Surveillance video in the area, police said, showed a man and a woman running west on Independence and then walking around the area for another hour or so. Around 7 a.m. on May 16 surveillance video showed what appeared to be the same two people having a conversation before the woman made a stabbing motion before the man grabbed his neck, charging documents said.
When police questioned Davis on Thursday, court records said, a small knife was found in her bag and “apparent blood” was seen on and inside the bag.
According to prosecutors, Davis told police that she had been with West “all night” at various locations and when she returned to the RV after leaving to get beer she was told by another man that West had been shot and they needed to leave.
Davis is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center. Her bond is set at $150,000 cash.
