Teens in custody in stabbing death of Lee’s Summit woman

Two teens were charged Wednesday afternoon in the stabbing death of Tanya Chamberlain, a Lee’s Summit woman who was remembered by an old classmate as a beloved friend.

The teens, ages 13 and 14, are both Lee’s Summit residents, police said, but due to their status as juveniles, the law prohibits officials from releasing any more information about their identities.

Both teens were charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and tampering. There will be a certification hearing to determine if the teens should stand trial as adults. That hearing has not yet been scheduled. They are being held in the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center.

Beth Glover, a spokeswoman for the Lee’s Summit Police Department, said authorities are confident that the teens were the only parties involved.

At 1:15 a.m. Sunday, a police officer tried to apprehend what he thought was an impaired driver. Police said the driver drove over a curb into a grassy common area of an apartment complex and two males fled on foot from the vehicle. The officer gave chase before losing sight of both. Skid marks remained on a grassy hill near a unit in the Ashbrooke Apartments in the 500 block of Southeast Second Street in Lee’s Summit that was the site of the grisly discovery.

The officer found the body of the 43-year-old in the passenger seat after he returned to the vehicle.

A woman on the southwest side of Lee’s Summit who identified herself as Chamberlain’s mother did not wish to speak with the media.

An Ashbrooke tenant who didn’t want to be identified said: “It’s just a sad situation all the way around. With (the two in custody) being kids, it’s just sad.”

Julie Ann Dodson-Croft said she attended Lee’s Summit High School with Chamberlain during the 1990s. Dodson-Croft, a Belton resident, counted Chamberlain as a good friend in high school.

Dodson-Croft said she later hired Chamberlain to serve as a nanny to her children.

Unfortunately, Dodson-Croft said, she hadn’t seen Chamberlain in years.

“She was the absolute funniest, (most) free-spirited person you would ever meet,” Dodson-Croft said. “(She) wouldn’t hurt anyone and loved all.”

Dodson-Croft added she wanted Chamberlain’s family to know that Chamberlain was loved.

“People need to know how great of a lady she was,” she said.

Lee’s Summit attorney David Kelly represented Chamberlain in a divorce case in 2005. He said she was a cooperative client, and he was shocked and stunned to hear of her passing.

“I hope whoever caused her death are held to account for it,” Kelly said.

Chamberlain’s death is the third homicide in Lee’s Summit since 2011.

Lee’s Summit police, who released surveillance photos and a video of the two on Tuesday, credited tips from the public with helping to apprehend the pair.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Teens in custody in stabbing death of Lee’s Summit woman."