Suspect in 2021 fatal shooting to be tried as adult after failing to appear
Nearly five years after a teenage girl was killed in Independence, prosecutors have certified a man accused of fatally shooting her to stand trial as an adult.
Justin B. Finch II, 21, was charged in Jackson County court with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary in the 2021 fatal shooting of a teenage girl in Independence.
At the time of the shooting, Finch was 16 years old. On Tuesday, a family and juvenile court judge certified Finch to stand trial as an adult.
Finch failed to appear for a pre-trial conference in 2023, after which law enforcement agencies couldn’t locate him, Jazzlyn Johnson, director of communications for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, said in a news release Wednesday.
In the news release, Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said homicide cases are among “the most complex” the prosecutor’s office handles, becoming more so when a suspect is a juvenile at the time of the offense.
“The legal process becomes much more intricate, moving through Family Court first, under a completely different system,” Johnson said. “That process takes time, but that does not mean we’ve forgotten our obligation to victims. Our office will pursue accountability and justice for all victims no matter how long it takes.”
On June 23, 2021, officers with the Independence Police Department responded just after 2 p.m. to a residence in the 2300 block of South Crescent Avenue , according to a probable cause statement in support of Finch’s arrest.
There, officers found a teenage girl, referred to in court documents as MF, dead in her bedroom with a gunshot wound to her head, the statement said. An autopsy later revealed her manner of death was a homicide.
MF’s mother told investigators that the pair had been preparing to leave the house earlier that day, the statement said. After getting into the family car, MF said she needed to get more money from the house.
When she didn’t return, the girl’s father forced the bedroom door open, where he found MF on the floor, according to court documents. The couple called 911 and attempted lifesaving measures.
MF’s mother told investigators that at the time of her death, her daughter had been dating Finch for about three years, the statement said. She and her husband didn’t approve of the pair’s relationship, and they knew Finch would sneak into their daughter’s room through a bedroom window.
Finch was a “jealous boyfriend,” MF’s mother told investigators, and had recently been kicked out of the house after a shouting match with her daughter, the statement said. The couple hadn’t seen him since, and said MF planned to break up with him.
Several family members told investigators they had previously seen Finch with firearms, the statement said. MF had previously told a relative Finch owned a gun.
According to MF’s sister, Finch “was trying to establish himself as a gangster,” and she believed “he always carried at least two guns in a backpack,” according to the court document.
On the morning of her death, MF was on the phone with her cousin when she told him Finch was “lingering” outside her bedroom window, the statement said. The call ended abruptly after Finch climbed into MF’s window.
Messages between Finch and MF revealed the pair had been arguing in the days prior to the shooting, the document said, during which Finch allegedly sent her several photos and videos involving guns .
The morning of the shooting, Finch reportedly texted MF that he needed her to find a pill, because someone wanted to purchase it from him, the statement said. MF responded that she would look for it.
Finch sent one more message, after which MF went back inside the residence, where she was found dead, the statement said.
Finch is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $350,000 cash-only bond, according to a warrant for Finch’s arrest. He is set to appear for a bond review hearing on March 10.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 8:54 PM.
