Inmate charged in slaying of KC woman whose remains were found by mushroom hunters
A 32-year-old man serving time in a Missouri prison for an unrelated crime has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Vernece A. Brown in 2018, according to court documents.
The Cass County prosecutor has charged Kenneth Bernard Wilson Jr. with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Brown, whose remains were found by mushroom hunters in a wooded area north of Harrisonville, according to court documents.
Wilson is currently an inmate at the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron after being convicted of an unrelated crime.
Brown disappeared after a Valentine’s Date on Feb. 14, 2018. For weeks, her family passed out fliers and canvassed neighborhoods and parts of Kansas City they knew Brown visited.
Her body was found weeks later on April 27, 2018, in the area of South MO Pac Road between East 235th and 239th streets by mushroom hunters.
The mushroom hunters led Cass County Sheriff personnel to her remains. While scouring the area for evidence, detectives found two shell casings near her body, according to court documents.
An autopsy by the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s office determined that Brown had been shot twice in the head. The nature of her wounds and the location of where the shell casings were found were consistent with her killer standing over and behind her as she was shot while lying face down on the ground, according to court documents.
The cause of her death was listed as multiple gunshot wounds.
Connecting Wilson to Brown
Cass County Sheriff detectives tentatively identified the victim based on a copy of a missing person’s flier for Brown from the Kansas City Police Department. Confirmation of her identity was based on tattoos found on the remains matching the known tattoos of Brown, according to court documents.
Once her identity was confirmed, police obtained search warrants for her phone and social media accounts. They also interviewed family and friends and learned that Brown, who had no means of transportation other than walking or catching a ride with someone, had left to go on a date with an unknown man.
During the date, Brown contacted a friend and asked to be picked up at the Applebee’s restaurant near U.S. 40 Highway and Sterling avenue in Kansas City. Brown’s friends saw her in the Applebee’s parking lot with a man they didn’t recognize. They picked her up and eventually dropped her off at her home in the 3600 block of Bales Avenue, according to court documents.
A search of Brown’s phone revealed that there were multiple calls and texts between Brown and a phone number tied to Wilson. Detectives obtained a search warrant for that number.
Based on the tower data from the two phones, authorities were able to place Brown and Wilson in the same location shortly before her phone went dormant. Detectives also discovered that at about 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 15, 2018, a text message was received by the Wilson’s phone while he was at or near the location where Brown’s remains were found, according to court documents.
Based on his cell phone data, detectives could see that Wilson traveled back to Kansas City and then on to St. Louis. He then traveled back to the Kansas City area where at about 12:50 a.m. Feb. 17, 2018, his phone was used for the last time.
Detectives learned that around the time of his last call, Wilson was involved in a pursuit with Riverside police involving the car he was driving, which had been carjacked from a woman in Columbia, Missouri. He was later convicted and currently is serving his sentence in connection with the stolen vehicle.
Using his booking photo from the arrest in Riverside, authorities showed a six-photo lineup to Brown’s friends who independently identified Wilson as the man last seen with Brown at the Applebee’s. They pointed out the clothes that Wilson was wearing in the photo lineup was the same clothes he was wearing at the restaurant.
Last week, authorities attempted to question Wilson in prison about Brown’s disappearance and he allegedly indicated that he would not answer any questions without an attorney and left the room without knowing details about the missing person.
