Man pleads guilty in Leavenworth County kidnapping, shooting death of 5-year-old Cadence Harris

An Atchison, Kan., man admitted in federal court Thursday that he kidnapped a 5-year-old girl and later killed her as police closed in on him two years ago.

Marcas McGowan, 32, pleaded guilty to kidnapping resulting in death and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

He kidnapped Cadence Harris on July 18, 2014, during a domestic dispute with the girl’s mother at a home they shared in Atchison. McGowan believed Cadence’s mother had been cheating on him, prosecutors said. He was not the girl’s father but had been in a longtime off-and-on relationship with her mother.

Although he is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 6, the plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., calls for him to serve a life sentence. Prosecutors had announced last summer that they were considering seeking the death penalty.

According to the plea agreement, as McGowan’s argument with Cadence’s mother escalated that summer evening, the mother ran to a neighbor’s home, called 911 and reported that McGowan had threatened at gunpoint to kill her.

McGowan ordered Cadence into his vehicle as his mother and grandmother, who were at the scene, urged him to put the girl in a car seat. Instead, he had Cadence ride in his front passenger seat.

As McGowan drove away, an Atchison police officer responding to the 911 call began following him with lights and sirens activated.

As the chase continued, McGowan’s mother and grandmother spoke to him by phone with police standing near them. His mother and grandmother urged him to let Cadence out or return to the house with her.

He told his grandmother that police were going to have to kill him.

A police officer familiar with McGowan got on the phone and tried to talk him into returning with the girl. Instead, McGowan demanded that officers bring Cadence’s mother to a bridge and exchange her for the child. When the police officer said no, McGowan ended the conversation.

About an hour after the kidnapping, with police no longer behind his vehicle, McGowan headed toward a Missouri winery to meet his sister. A Platte County sheriff’s deputy spotted his vehicle and began following him without activating his lights or siren. McGowan changed direction and turned toward Weston.

Weston police tried to stop him at a highway intersection, but McGowan drove around other vehicles and sped away.

The Platte County deputy and Weston officers began chasing him, with speeds topping 95 mph. They reported that McGowan fired shots at them during the pursuit.

McGowan eventually drove back into Kansas and into Leavenworth, where additional officers joined the chase. By then, an hour and 10 minutes had passed since the kidnapping.

McGowan crashed through a construction barricade on a highway near the northwest corner of Leavenworth and stopped his vehicle on an unfinished portion of the highway. He got out and pointed a pistol at officers, who repeatedly ordered him to put down the gun. When he did not, they shot him.

Officers found Cadence in the front seat with “lots of blood around her mouth.” She died at the scene. An autopsy showed she had been shot in the back of the head. The bullet exited her chin and lodged in the car’s passenger door.

“It appears the defendant held his … 9 mm pistol … above the child’s head and shot her, after crashing through the barricade and stopping the vehicle,” the plea agreement said.

Additional tests confirmed that McGowan shot Cadence while she was facing the passenger door, the plea agreement said.

After McGowan pleaded guilty Thursday, Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick R. Kitchens issued a statement thanking the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting the case, which was transferred to federal court after charges originally had been filed in state court. Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson was appointed as a special assistant U.S. attorney to help with the federal prosecution.

“Every single officer tried heroically on that day to rescue 5 year-old Cadence Harris from very grave danger,” Kitchens’ statement said. “Each officer put their lives at risk and were also in grave personal danger. When it became apparent they weren’t going to be able to save young Cadence, they turned their attention to seeking justice for her.

“Today, justice was served. ...

“The murder of Cadence Harris will go down in the history of the Leavenworth Police Department as one of the most cold and calculating ever. It will be seared into the collective conscience of the officers for the remainder of their career and beyond. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family today.”

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Man pleads guilty in Leavenworth County kidnapping, shooting death of 5-year-old Cadence Harris."