Kansas City police start 3 homicide investigations in the last week. Here’s what we know
Over the last week, Kansas City police have opened up three additional homicide investigations, including one involving the death of an infant.
In Kansas City alone there have been 151 homicides this year, according to data maintained by The Star. By this time last year, the city had suffered 180 homicides.
Homicides have generally risen over the past 20 years. Last year was the deadliest year on record with 182 killings. Since 2000, the city has only recorded five years where the homicide count did not exceed 100 lives lost.
Here’s a timeline of the violence over the last week across the metro area:
Homicides
On Monday, Dec. 13, police were called to investigate a homicide after 34-year-old Cory Haley was shot. The man was taken to an area hospital where he later died.
Officers responded to a report of a shooting at about 12:15 a.m. on 82nd Terrace near Euclid Avenue, police said at the time. Arriving officers found evidence of a crime scene outside a home in the neighborhood. Someone, however, had driven Haley to a hospital.
The next day, 17-year-old Kaleb D. Martin was fatally shot in Kansas City.
Police were called around 7 a.m. Dec. 14 to the 7000 block of Agnes Avenue after someone called 911 saying that a person was on the ground having what appeared to be a medical emergency.
Arriving officers found Martin who had been shot. The teenager was taken by ambulance to an area hospital where he later died.
A third homicide was reported later in the week, this time as the result of a months-long investigation into an infant’s death.
In September, police were sent to the 4200 block of North Locust Street after receiving a report of a baby not breathing.
The child was first treated by emergency medical workers on the afternoon of Sept. 11. Life-saving measures were performed on the child by emergency medical personnel. A pulse was restored at the scene but the child later died in an area hospital, said Capt. Leslie Foreman, a department spokeswoman.
On Thursday, with recent autopsy findings in hand, police said the child’s death had been ruled a homicide.
Suspicious deaths in Independence, Belton, KC
On Friday, Kansas City police also investigated a suspicious death after a body was discovered inside a home in the 11200 block of East 47th Terrace.
It was initially unclear whether the person found had resided in the area, or how the person who reported the body had accessed the home before alerting police. An investigation is ongoing.
On Sunday morning, Belton police said they were investigating a suspicious death in the 600 block of North Scott Avenue after they found a 45-year-old woman dead. No further information was immediately available.
Later in the day, Independence police said they were investigating a suspicious death after two adults were found dead inside a residence.
Police were called at about 4 p.m. to an apartment complex in the 1400 block of South Baker Drive on a medical call and discovered the bodies. Police sent out an update Sunday evening saying that while there was “no apparent foul play” involved in the deaths, they also haven’t yet determined a cause of death.
No other information was immediately released. An investigation is now underway.
The Star’s Bill Lukitsch and Robert A. Cronkleton contributed.
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 8:04 AM.
