KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City man is charged with the death of his brother in what family members described as a “Cain and Abel situation."
Jacob Ackerman, 43, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
The incident’s probable cause states the Sugar Creek Police Department was called around 10:15 p.m. Saturday on a welfare check.
Dispatchers noted the reporting party said they were tracking a relative with the Life360 app and were concerned they had not moved in seven hours.
Officers searched the area near Missouri 291 and Missouri 210 in patrol vehicles and with an aerial drone for the relative’s black Mercedes, but police did not locate the vehicle.
When the reporting party shared a screenshot of the tracking app, which was showing the relative’s phone at the northeast corner of a pond, officers searched that location.
There, the relative was found lying on his back with a head wound, surrounded by a pool of blood.
The court document stated police also found an empty Mike’s Hard Lemonade, black Crock-type shoes, a 32-ounce QuikTrip cup filled with unknown liquid, an electronic cigarette vaping device, a pocket knife and gray sweatpants near the body.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene, where the victim was pronounced dead and the items were collected as evidence.
Overnight, around 3:12 a.m. Sunday, relatives of the victim contacted police, inquiring about the whereabouts of Ackerman, who they “believed was responsible for the victim’s death.”
The medical examiner’s office called police shortly after to report the family had called them, and during the call, a member was heard referencing the incident as a “Cain and Abel situation.”
A few hours later, around 6:45 a.m., the family told police Ackerman was at a McDonald’s in Kansas City, Missouri.
When KCPD officers arrived at the restaurant due to a disturbance, Ackerman exited his vehicle and “placed his hands behind his back without being ordered to do so,” per the probable cause.
In the court document, officers noted one of his relatives asked him why he killed his brother as he was being detained, to which he said nothing and only stared back blankly.
Police took Ackerman to KCPD Headquarters and secured his vehicle from the McDonald’s.
Around 8:45 a.m., detectives were shown a photo Ackerman and his brother had taken shortly before the brother’s death. The photo’s background appeared to be the same location where the body was found.
Relatives also elaborated on the “Cain and Abel situation," explaining to detectives Ackerman had been jealous of his brother for “most of his life” because he felt his brother was better off while he was struggling.
Based on information from the family, detectives were able to recover surveillance footage from the Quick Way gas station at 4500 N. Cobbler Rd., where Ackerman was said to have last been seen with his brother in the Mercedes.
With such evidence, detectives moved Ackerman to an interview room.
After denying any knowledge of where his brother was, detectives told him the situation looked suspicious. He replied by saying, “If it looks bad then it is,” per the probable cause.
He then consented to his vehicle being searched but dodged explicitly allowing his home to be searched, stating, “You are going to do what you are going to do.”
The warrants allowed officers to locate the clothing Ackerman was wearing in the selfie with his brother from “various locations throughout the residence.”
Later, in an interview with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Ackerman admitted to shooting his brother in the head after the two had argued “over a girl.”
At first, he denied knowing where the murder weapon was. But later, he handed a note to officers that it could be found in the attic crawl space of his residence.
Ackerman is being held at the Jackson County Detention Center on a $300,000 cash-only bond.
His prior convictions include possession of a controlled substance (2001); first-degree burglary and three counts of second-degree assault (2006).
Ackerman’s first court appearance on the murder charge was held Monday morning.
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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.
