Man who allegedly murdered Stowers researchers died in KC area murder-suicide: police
Kansas City police have identified the person believed to be responsible for the death of two Stowers researchers earlier this month, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
In a Thursday afternoon release, the prosecutor’s office announced that KCPD determined Kevin Ray Moore, 42, killed the two researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research on Oct. 1.
Camila Behrensen, 24, of Buenos Aires, and Pablo Guzmán Palma, 25, of Santiago, Chile, were found dead following a fire at an apartment complex in Midtown.
Police officers were called to the scene of a structure fire just before 5 a.m. that day in the 4100 block of Oak Street, Officer Donna Drake, with the Kansas City Police Department, said at the time.
There, officers met with members of the Kansas City Fire Department, who said they found two people “suffering from apparent trauma” inside the apartment building after putting out the fire. They were declared dead at the scene.
Subsequent court documents said the fire was intentionally set to cover up their murders.
On Oct. 16, authorities said Moore was found dead after a murder-suicide in Clay County, which is still under investigation.
His body was found with that of a mother of five identified as Misty Brockman, 40, in a wooded area near N.E. 48th Street and Randolph Road. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
KCPD used phone and computer data, surveillance videos, ballistic testing and DNA testing to determine that Moore allegedly caused the deaths of the two Stowers researchers, the prosecutor’s office said.
Authorities have not yet released a motive for the killings, or their exact manner of death.
The Stowers Institute for Medical Research said Moore had no ties to the graduate school or institute in a statement Thursday.
“The Stowers Institute and the Graduate School at the Stowers Institute are grieving the loss of two brilliant, promising scientists,” the statement read. “Our thoughts are with their families during this time.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 4:08 PM.