Kansas City, Kansas, police investigate 3 suspicious deaths at high-rise apartment
Kansas City, Kansas, police are investigating the suspicious deaths of three residents at Wyandotte Towers after their bodies were discovered within the past two days.
Police said they are investigating the deaths of two men and a woman at the Wyandotte Towers Apartments, located in the 900 block of Washington Boulevard. The cause of the deaths has not been released, but all three are being investigated as homicides.
The names and ages of the victims have not been released. They each lived in separate apartments in the 15-story, 302-unit building, located near downtown.
On Monday, officers were summoned to the high-rise apartment building about 8:15 a.m. to check on the welfare of a resident. Arriving officers found the man dead inside his apartment, said police spokeswoman Nancy Chartrand.
Building management called police again on Tuesday, just after 11 a.m., after Wyandotte Towers personnel found a male and a female while performing some form of routine maintenance in the building, Chartrand said. Both were deceased.
“Again suspicious circumstances being investigated as potential homicides,” Chartrand said. “We don’t know whether these were related.”
Homicide investigators remained at the scene Tuesday afternoon speaking with residents and gathering evidence. The building has security and video surveillance.
“The inference would be homicide, but that can’t be determined completely until the autopsies are done,” Chartrand said.
No suspect information was immediately available. Police did not know whether anyone forced their way into the victims’ apartments. Police also do not know whether any of those found knew one another.
“It’s concerning, we receive calls periodically but nothing like this,” Chartrand said. “Anytime you have three deceased individuals in a 24-hour period, there’s something to be concerned about.”
Several residents of the building were gathered in the parking lot as police officers remained on scene Tuesday afternoon. One was Michelle Garrett, who said she knew one of the victims, saying she was a 24-year-old woman with two children.
“I took her on as my daughter,” said Garrett, adding that she befriended the young woman two years ago. Garrett said she was approached by the building manager on Tuesday, who broke the news to her.
Zina Johnson, another resident of the building, said the same victim was her best friend. Johnson described her as wise, intelligent, fun and loving.
“She will never be forgotten,” Johnson said. “We will always cherish her.”
Police are asking anyone with information about the deaths to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 3:39 PM.
