Man allegedly shot girlfriend in head, dumped her body on roadside in Raytown: Charges
An Independence man is accused of murdering a woman inside his Mercedes Benz after an argument Monday night and dumping her lifeless body onto the roadway in Raytown.
Aaron C. Alexander Jr., 35, was charged Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing, prosecutors announced in a statement late Tuesday night. Court papers identified the victim as Melissa Lucker, a woman who witnesses said was romantically involved with Alexander.
Raytown police began their investigation after officers were dispatched around 8 p.m. Monday to the intersection of East 87th Street and Raytown Road on a report of a woman who was in the roadway and appeared to be bleeding.
An officer at the crime scene found that Lucker was face down on the roadside along 87th Street just east of Raytown Road, bleeding from her head and appeared to have no heartbeat. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital and pronounced dead there.
Police initially reported the case was suspected to be a possible hit-and-run, though later said the victim had been shot. An officer spoke with a 911 caller who said she and her husband saw the victim as they were driving west on 87th Street and called police for help.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office would later find that Lucker died of a single gunshot wound to the head from close range, according to court records.
Roughly four hours after the body was found, a witness walked into the Raytown police station to report information concerning a homicide. The person told police that Alexander had called around 8:30 or 9 p.m. saying he got into a fight with a romantic partner.
During the witness’ description of the encounter, police were told that the event “escalated to the point of him shooting her in the head,” a Raytown detective wrote in charging documents for Alexander.
Another witness told police she received a phone call from Alexander that night and that he was “hysterical.”
The witnesses who spoke to police said they had encouraged Alexander to turn himself in.
Authorities say Alexander surrendered in the early hours of Tuesday morning at Independence police headquarters. He drove his silver 2010 Mercedes Benz to the station and was taken into police custody.
He appeared “intoxicated” when he arrived at IPD and declined to give a statement to Raytown detectives investigating the homicide after being transported there, according to charging documents filed in the case.
A search warrant was obtained for the Mercedes. Investigators reported finding apparent blood on several parts of the passenger side of the vehicle’s interior, including on the floorboard, center console and door frame.
A 9mm casing with blood and hair was also found on the driver’s side floorboard near a bottle of bleach, and authorities allege there had been an obvious effort to clean the car before it came into police custody.
Prosecutors have asked that Alexander be held in the Jackson County jail on a $300,000 bond as he faces the criminal charges.
Court records did not list an attorney for Alexander as of late Tuesday night.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
