Details are released in last summer’s killing of a 5-year-old girl in Leavenworth

A 5-year-old girl killed last summer in Leavenworth apparently was shot by the man who allegedly kidnapped her, not by police who fired at him, according to court documents released Tuesday.

Cadence Harris was killed inside a car driven by Marcas McGowan, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police after a car chase in July.

Prosecutors charged McGowan with felony first-degree murder and other crimes.

Officials had not previously said how Cadence was killed. Details came out Tuesday after District Judge Gunnar Sundby ordered the public release of an affidavit filed to support the charges against McGowan.

McGowan, the 30-year-old boyfriend of the girl’s mother, allegedly took the girl from their residence in Atchison, Kan., after a domestic disturbance.

After driving into Platte County, he allegedly fired shots at pursuing deputies before driving into Leavenworth County, where police took up the pursuit.

According to the affidavit, he reached speeds of 90 mph in a 35 mph zone before crashing through a barrier on an unfinished section of roadway.

McGowan then got out of the car and fired shots from a handgun at two Leavenworth police officers, who returned fire and wounded McGowan.

Inside the car, the officers found Cadence in the vehicle’s front seat with a bullet wound to her head.

According to a follow-up investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the autopsy conducted by the county coroner, a “defect” in the vehicle’s passenger door was “consistent” with being caused by the bullet that had exited the little girl’s head.

The defect was made from the interior to the exterior of the vehicle, according to the court document.

A spent bullet recovered from the car door was “consistent by weight” with a 9 mm round, and McGowan’s gun was the only 9 mm weapon found at the scene, according to the affidavit.

McGowan, who has been in jail since shortly after the incident, is scheduled to go to trial March 16, according to Leavenworth County District Court records.

This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Details are released in last summer’s killing of a 5-year-old girl in Leavenworth."