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KCPD investigates body found in Prospect Ave. yard as homicide

Posted at 2:10 PM, Aug 18, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-18 15:10:48-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A death investigation launched last week after someone found a body in their backyard is now a homicide investigation.

A resident called police shortly after 8 a.m. on Aug. 10 to report a possible dead body in their yard in the 5800 block of Prospect Ave.

Kansas City, Missouri, police officers located a body “in an advanced state of decomposition” in the southeast corner of the yard.

KCPD announced Tuesday that the unidentified victim’s death is being investigated as a homicide.

This is KCMO’s 124th homicide in 2020, which puts the city on pace for more than 195 homicides — which would obliterate the record for most homicides in a single year of 153 set in 1993.

There were 90 homicides through the morning of Aug. 18 last year and 150 homicides for all of 2019. There were 94 through this date in 2017 and 151 total that year.

For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.

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