Years after fatal shooting, prosecutors charge man in killing of Kansas City toddler

Nearly four years after 3-year-old Marcus Haislip III was gunned down in a volley of gunfire as he waited in his car seat in an East side Kansas City neighborhood, Jackson County prosecutors announced Wednesday they have filed criminal charges against the man accused in the killing.

Derrick D. Wren Jr., 28, is charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree assault in the triple shooting that took place on May 12, 2017, near 54th Street and Park Avenue.

Kansas City homicide detectives were able to connect Wren to the shooting through DNA found on a Styrofoam cup. In addition, last fall witnesses told investigators that Wren had allegedly confessed to the fatal shooting and he used a 7.62 mm pistol with a 30 to 50-round clip, according to court records.

“This [expletive] wasn’t supposed to happen,” Wren allegedly told a witness, court records stated.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the criminal charges during a news conference at noon Wednesday.

“It’s pretty easy, I think for all of us to get behind what this looks like, what justice looks like, and what injustice looks like,” Baker said displaying a photo of Marcus. “This is a precious 3-year-old, who no one can have an argument with, nobody can have a disagreement with. And this little guy paid a really big price with his life.”

“For something that is just, there’s no good explanation for why Marcus is not with us today.”

Baker credited Kansas City homicide detectives and the agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on helping secure the criminal charges.

“Many people in Kansas City don’t realize the effort that goes into cases, just because they’re not in the news this week or last week, that we continue to look at cases and review those that we think have an opportunity to be solved,” Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith said during the news conference.

“Obviously, this was one of those cases,” Smith said.

According to court records, officers had responded to a shooting call in the area of 54th Street and Brooklyn Avenue. Moments later, arriving officers received information that a vehicle had arrived at Research Medical Center with three gunshot victims, including Marcus who had already died.

Bullets struck Marcus in the head, neck and elsewhere. The boy’s father was struck in the upper body and the uncle was hit on his foot.

A passenger in the vehicle told investigators after the shooting, he turned to check on Marcus and saw the boy’s eyes rolling back. The passenger then pulled out a firearm and returned gunfire, according to court documents in support of the murder charges.

Several people said that they saw a man fire his weapon. The gunman wore a red hooded sweatshirt and fired a long gun from the porch area of 53rd Street and Park Avenue.

The owner of the residence said the description sounded like Wren. He also had been seen with a long gun like the one described. Multiple shell casings were recovered at the crime scene as well as a Styrofoam cup, prosecutors said in a press release.

In 2019, the Missouri Highway Patrol alerted detectives that DNA from the Styrofoam cup matched Wren, according to court records.

Bond was set at $250,000. Wren is currently in federal custody after being charged with trying to acquire a firearm while under criminal indictment, Baker said.

Baker noted that in 2020 there were two Kansas City homicide victims who were under the age of 10 and 20 homicide victims who were between the ages of 10 and 20-years-old.

In 2020, there were 119 non-fatal shooting victims who were between 10 and 20-years-old, Baker said.

“It’s a good reminder to all of us that we’ve got to find another way other than to pick up a gun and settle our disputes. There are other ways to do that.”

In 2019, Marcus’ father, Marcus Haislip Jr. was charged with two counts of first-degree assault for allegedly shooting two men, including a person of interest in his son’s killing.

Haislip is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center and his criminal trial is scheduled to be held in June, according to court records.

In a statement read by Baker, the victim’s mother thanked those who supported her as well as the homicide detectives and others involved in the investigation.

“There were times I felt I wouldn’t see any progress. So for even making it here, I am grateful,” according to a statement from Marcus’ mother who asked not to be identified.

She said Marcus loved his family, music, the singer Bruno Mars, PAW Patrol and Spider-Man cartoons. Oreo cookies and chocolate milk were also among his favorites, according to the mother’s statement.

Marcus wanted to become a football player when he got older and often played catch with his uncle.

“The impact it has left on this family is still hard to cope. His older brother and sister miss him every day,” she said.

This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 1:46 PM.