Man previously convicted of manslaughter charged in fatal shooting of girlfriend
A man previously convicted of second-degree manslaughter is facing a first-degree murder charge, accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend in 2024 on Kansas City’s East Side.
Ramello Robinson-Parks faces first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm for his alleged role in the Feb. 19, 2024, killing of 26-year-old Elaysha Gilliam, according to a news release from Jazzlyn Johnson, director of communications for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Officers with the Kansas City Police Department were called to an overgrown vacant lot in the 3600 block of Oakley Avenue around midnight on reports of a dead body, according to a probable cause statement filed in support of Robinson-Parks’ arrest.
There, investigators found Gilliam dead, the statement said, with zip-ties around her hands and feet, “duct tape over her mouth and wrapped around her head and gunshot wounds to her head, neck, torso, arm and buttocks,” according to the court document.
A witness told investigators Gilliam left home around 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 17, 2024, to meet with her boyfriend, Robinson-Parks, the probable cause statement said.
Several witnesses described Robinson-Parks as abusive, according to the statement, describing incidents in which Robinson-Parks reportedly physically assaulted Gilliam, including an incident that caused the woman to lose a pregnancy.
In an interview with detectives on March 5, 2024, Robinson-Parks told investigators that he “heard about” Gilliam after returning from a trip, the probable cause statement said. He asked if she “‘got into it’ with someone.”
He later told investigators he needed to “‘get himself together,’” before speaking with officials, the court document said.
Robinson-Parks’ DNA was found at the scene on a piece of glove found in Gilliam’s hair, in Gilliam’s mouth and under Gilliam’s nail, the statement said.
On May 16, 2026, Robinson-Parks was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the court document. Investigators found gloves in his backpack during the arrest “similar in color and appearance” to the one found in Giliam’s hair.
Robinson-Parks has previously been convicted of second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in physical injury, the court document said.
The conviction stems from a May 14, 2018, incident in which Robinson-Parks was driving west on 11th Street, near Charlotte Street, when he struck a man using a wheelchair. Robinson-Parks was texting at the time of the crash.
Gilliam, a mother of four, is remembered as a woman with a “heart of gold” who cared deeply for her family. Relatives said the woman with the big smile brought joy and laughter to those around her.
The Star’s J.M. Banks contributed reporting.
