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Court document in 2025 fatal shooting in Kansas City, Kansas, reveals new details

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Wyandotte County District Court released an affidavit detailing a May 2025 shooting in Kansas City, Kansas, that left a 19-year-old woman dead.

The KCK woman, Britney Castro-Lopez, died from her injuries on June 14, 2025, after being shot on May 31, 2025, in Quindaro Park.

Prabin Ghataney, the man accused of the shooting death, faces a second-degree murder charge.

On the day of the shooting, a KCK officer patrolling the area around 3:40 a.m. came across a white SUV parked in the eastbound lane of Washington Boulevard facing westbound. The officer said he signaled the male driver to move, but the SUV remained stationary.

Another male then exited a residence and ran toward the vehicle. The driver told police his cousin was shot and was in the backseat, according to the affidavit.

The officer at the scene requested emergency medical services, and then found the woman in the backseat floorboard of the vehicle. Police also saw a white sandal with blood on it on the front passenger seat.

After additional law enforcement arrived, police asked the driver, Ghataney, what happened. He said Castro-Lopez had shot herself, per the court document.

Police observed blood on the outside of the vehicle that seemed to indicate Castro-Lopez had been put in the vehicle after being shot, and the angle of her gunshot wound appeared to be “unusual for a suicide.”

While being held in the back of a patrol car, Ghataney stated he was the woman’s ex-boyfriend, and he had picked her up because she was arguing with her new partner. He then stated he put her in the vehicle to take her to her sister’s house after she shot herself, the affidavit stated.

Castro-Lopez was transported to KU Medical Center, where the medical team told police the gunshot wound did not appear to be self-inflicted.

The Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation after the crime scene was discovered on a walking trail at Quindaro Park. The victim’s other sandal and glasses, as well as a spent shell casing, were found at the crime scene.

While in custody, Ghataney refused to give a statement to detectives without a lawyer. His hands were swabbed for gunshot residue at the KCK Police Department detective bureau before he was sent to Wyandotte County Jail for a 48-hour hold, according to the affidavit.

In the following days, investigators conducted interviews with various people detailing the on-and-off relationship between the suspect and the victim.

Following the victim’s death in June 2025, an autopsy report revealed the gunshot wound had an entry point “from the back to front and right to left,” and the manner of death was “undetermined.”

A forensic laboratory report from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in October 2025 stated items swabbed for gunshot residue tested positive, per the court document.

Ghataney was arrested on Jan. 20, 2026, and his next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24.

If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.

Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.