Body found in burned car in Kansas City ruled a homicide; police working to ID victim
The death of a person found Friday in a burned vehicle in Kansas City has been ruled a homicide, according to police.
Investigators on Monday were still working to identify the victim, who was found in the car at East 10th Street and Winner Road, said Officer Donna Drake, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department.
Firefighters responded about 6:15 a.m. Friday to the vehicle fire. Police were called to the scene at 2:15 p.m. after the body was found inside the car, Drake said.
Investigators believed the body was in the car during the fire, police said.
Detectives were initially investigating the death as suspicious. Now that it has been ruled a homicide, the victim’s death marked the 175th of 176 killings this year in Kansas City, according to data maintained by The Star, which includes police shootings.
The city surpassed its record number of homicides in a calendar year in October.
By this time last year, there had been 143 killings.
Police asked anyone with information to call the department’s homicide unit at 816-234-5043 or the Tips Hotline at 816-474-8477
The Star’s Katie Bernard contributed to this report.
