Jury finds father guilty in 2017 fatal shooting of his children’s mother in Kansas City
A jury found a Kansas City man guilty in the 2017 fatal shooting of 36-year-old Tamara Randolph in the midst of a custody battle, according to a news release from the Jackson County prosecutor’s office.
The jury found 41-year-old John A. Frazier guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the August 2017 killing of Randolph outside his home in the 3700 block of Woodland Avenue, according to prosecutors.
The jury recommended early Saturday that Frazier serve life without parole — the maximum sentence for a first-degree murder conviction —and 20 years in prison for the armed criminal action conviction. Sentencing has been set for June 30.
According to court documents, Randolph’s sister told police that Randolph had gone to Frazier’s home to retrieve their young boys, whom they shared custody of but she had not seen for a couple months.
Randolph had called her sister saying that Frazier had pulled a gun on her. The sister could hear Randolph in the background saying, “So you’re going to pull a gun on me.”
Another sister called Randolph and overheard Frazier trying to persuade her to go into the house. Randolph refused. The sister told police she then heard what sounded like a struggle.
Frazier had called 911 to report a shooting. When officers arrived, they found Randolph face down in the driveway. She was declared dead at the scene. Frazier told police he shot Randolph after she pulled a gun on him, according to court documents.
Video from a surveillance camera system at the home showed Randolph arriving at the house and knocking on the door. Frazier showed up minutes later and he appeared to be holding a gun.
The recording stopped moments before the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system picked up seven gunshots.
This story was originally published April 30, 2023 at 9:59 AM.
