Kansas City, Kansas, woman charged with first-degree murder in September fatal shooting

A Kansas City, Kansas, woman was charged Monday in the September fatal shooting of a 62-year-old woman, the Wyandotte County District Attorney announced.

Melanie Perry, 29, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Lillian Jackson of Shawnee. Perry was also charged with discharge of a firearm. She is already in county jail for an unrelated incident.

Jackson was leaving Mt. Zion Baptist Church during the afternoon on Sept. 18 when she was shot and killed at a stop sign in her car. A stray bullet hit Jackson at the intersection of N. Third Street and Richmond who had been volunteering at the church, according to the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.

Police were called to the shooting just before 4 p.m. Johnson was found shot to death inside of her vehicle.

A single tip to the police department led to the charges against Perry, who remains the only suspect, KCKPD detectives said at a news conference Monday.

Perry was arrested on Oct. 20 on aggravated assault and battery charges unrelated to the shooting. She remains in Wyandotte County Jail on a $250,000 bond.