Suburban Kansas City couple found guilty in dismemberment killing: Prosecutors
A Jackson County jury on Thursday convicted a man and woman of murder in the killing of Kensie Renee Aubry, whose dismembered body was discovered buried in a Grain Valley yard after she had been missing for nine months.
Michael Hendricks, 42, of Grain Valley, and Maggie Ybarra, 32, of Grandview, each stood trial on charges of first-degree murder and several other felonies. Closing arguments were made Thursday, leaving their fate in the hands of a jury selected last week.
Hendricks, who at the time of the killing was a married father of two who ran a Kansas City information technology company, met Ybarra through an escort site and the two began a longer relationship, according to court documents. They were accused of luring Aubry to Hendricks’ home and strangling her to fulfill a dark sex fantasy.
Hendricks was found guilty of first-degree murder and Ybarra was found guilty of the lesser offense of second-degree murder, according to a news release from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. Both were also convicted of harassment, sexual misconduct, evidence tampering, tampering with victims, enticement of a child and child molestation.
Aubry, a resident of Kansas City, Kansas who was originally from Pearland, Texas, disappeared in October 2020. Her friends and family suspected foul play and she was reported missing.
In April 2021, a then-13-year-old girl who was living in foster care said she had connected with Ybarra over Facebook and was later introduced to Hendricks, whom Ybarra described as a boyfriend.
The girl reported to authorities that she was sexually abused by Ybarra and Hendricks. She also told investigators they had also talked in graphic detail about killing someone.
The teenager, whose alleged abuse at the hands of Hendricks and Ybarra was the basis for other felony charges, said Hendricks had shown her pictures of a dead woman on a digital camera. She also said Hendricks once told her “it turned him on when people die,” according to court documents.
Authorities relied on her information and that of other witnesses who said Hendricks and Ybarra had talked openly about killing Aubry. Hendricks had allegedly admitted to choking Aubry to death, cutting her body up and hiding her in a large freezer in an aircraft hanger on his 6-acre property.
Neighbors also reported that Hendricks had been seen digging a big hole in the yard after Aubry disappeared.
In July 2020, Aubry’s remains were unearthed by heavy equipment in the yard of Hendricks’ home in the 4000 block of South Buckner-Tarsney Road. They had been distributed in white garbage bags with orange pull ties, according to court documents.
Ybarra is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Under Missouri law, Hendricks faces a minimum sentence of life in prison for his first-degree murder conviction.
This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 10:27 PM.
