Friday’s Northland crime spree victims identified, fundraisers established to help

The victims of a Northland crime spree on Friday have been identified by the Platte County Sheriff’s Office.

On Friday morning, police shot and killed George C. Manning III, 43, a suspect in two homicides and the abduction of his 5-year-old child, according to authorities.

Manning’s crime spree began with a fatal shooting about 11:15 p.m. Thursday in Riverside, where he allegedly shot and killed a woman at the Riverside Car Wash and stole her vehicle, according to the Platte County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Capt. Jeffrey Shanks.

That victim has been identified as Katherine Bjorklund, 33, of Kansas City, according to Shanks. A GoFundMe has begun to bring Bjorklund’s mom to Kansas City from San Antonio, the fundraiser stated.

Officials believe this shooting was solely to steal Bjorklund’s vehicle.

Manning then drove the victim’s vehicle to a home in unincorporated Platte County, where he allegedly shot and seriously injured the mother of his daughter and shot and killed the mother’s son before taking his daughter.

The mother has been identified as Mercedes Ontiveros, 34. She is at a local hospital recovering from a gunshot wound.

Her son who was killed has been identified as Giuliani Calderon, 12, who was a seventh grade student at Walden Middle School in the Park Hill School District.

The Northland family victimized in the crime spree had also previously been affected by gun violence, as a loved one of the family revealed in an online fundraiser set up to support the family.

In a GoFundMe set up by a family friend, it was revealed that six years ago, the father of 12-year-old Giuliani and Ontiveros’s oldest daughter was also the victim of a mass shooting.

Alfredo Calderon Jr. was one of four victims of a Kansas City, Kansas mass shooting in 2019. His obituary states he was survived by the mother of his children, Ontiveros, and his children, one of whom was named Giuliani. Calderon was also survived by a daughter, who was not involved in last week’s crime spree.

He was described as a family man in previous reporting.

The fundraiser established after last week’s shooting says Ontiveros is “temporarily immobilized following this senseless act of domestic violence.”

As the fundraiser points out, while she recovers, she’s also grieving the loss of her son.

“Giuliani wasn’t just her son—he was her best friend, her firstborn, a light in all of our lives,” the fundraiser said.

Around 5 a.m. Friday, after an Amber Alert had been issued, Manning released the girl to one of his family members. She was found safe and unharmed, Shanks said. Officials believe Manning fled to Kansas City, Kansas, and committed more crimes there before returning to Missouri.

Around 7:30 a.m., officers spotted Manning walking along Northwest Vivion Road near Northwest Waukomis Drive, where he was shot and killed by police.

Proceeds from the GoFundMe will go to Ontiveros and her two daughters to help with time away from work, counseling services, and household expenses. More than $21,000 of the $30,000 goal has been raised as of Monday evening.

“In addition to the profound grief of losing her son, Mercedes is now confronted with the overwhelming challenge of adjusting to a life she never could have imagined,” the fundraiser stated.

This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 6:31 PM.