Man taken into custody is the boyfriend of one of the victims, Kansas City police say.
By CHRISTINE VENDEL
The Kansas City Star
Kansas City officers on Sunday arrested a suspect in a triple homicide that left three relatives dead in an apparent domestic violence attack on Friday night.
Police plan to submit their case file to prosecutors today for possible charges in the slayings, which were among a half dozen in Kansas City on Friday and Saturday.
The suspect in the triple homicide is the boyfriend of one of the victims, police said. Police did not identify that victim on Sunday but said she was the cousin of Anthony C. Richardson, 50, a childhood friend of Police Chief Darryl Forté. Richardson was killed along with his wife, Mary Richardson, 53.
The cousin was visiting the Richardsons’ home in the 2400 block of Lister Avenue about 10:15 p.m. Friday when the boyfriend showed up and walked inside. He sat down with his girlfriend and the Richardsons and talked for a while, police said, before allegedly pulling a gun and shooting them. He then allegedly drove away in his girlfriend’s car.
There were two witnesses in the home, including a teenage child of the Richardsons, but neither heard exactly what was said before the shooting, according to investigators. Police described the suspect’s relationship with his girlfriend as volatile and abusive.
Forté said he had still talked to Richardson regularly. Forté had even planned to drop off a love seat and washing machine at the Richardsons’ home Friday night but decided to wait until the next morning after hooking up his trailer.
Police arrested the suspect, in his late 40s, Sunday afternoon. He declined to talk to investigators.
The killings were among six that occurred within 10 hours Friday and early Saturday in Kansas City.
Less than two hours before the triple homicide, firefighters found a man’s body in a burning home in the 5400 block of East 28th Street. Police said evidence at the scene led them to believe the death was a homicide. Police didn’t release his name or any additional details.
About eight hours after the triple killing, police were called to the scene of a double homicide. On Sunday, police identified those victims as Claude L. Carson, 52, and Alphonso Nicholson, 42.
Nicholson’s mother, Ethel Shelton, said her son was visiting someone in the 2500 block of Benton Boulevard when an argument broke out and he was shot. She didn’t know Carson or what sort of dispute led to their killings.
Shelton last talked to Nicholson a few days ago when he called for a “home remedy” for a cold. He wanted to help a friend feel better, she said.
Nicholson had three siblings, one of whom called Shelton at 7:38 a.m. Saturday to tell her about the shooting. She said she hopes police can find some of the witnesses who scattered after the shooting.
“God willing,” she said, “some answers will come out.”
Police said they were making good progress in the homicides, which they believe are unrelated.
To reach Christine Vendel, call 816-234-4438 or send email to cvendel@kcstar.com.
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