KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A second person is now facing murder charges in connection to the June 2022 Platte County death of 31-year-old Taylor Hawkins.
Hawkins was found shot to death on June 27, 2022, behind a barn located in the 28000 block of Oberdiek Lane in Platte County.
In the weeks following Hawkins’ death, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office developed information about two people of interest - McKayla Cheyenne Archambeau and Cordero Thomas Cervantes.
Archambeau, then 22, was charged in October 2022 with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with evidence and tampering with a motor vehicle. At the time, Cervantes, then 32, faced charges of tampering with evidence and tampering with a motor vehicle.
In August 2025, Archambeau reached a plea deal with prosecutors in which she agreed to plead guilty to all counts. A sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 14.
Cervantes would eventually plead guilty to tampering with a motor vehicle. He was placed on five years of probation with the threat of four years in prison if he violated the terms.
Over the next three years, detectives continued to work the case, which led to the Platte County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Tuesday to upgrade charges against Cervantes to second-degree murder.
A witness allegedly told detectives that the victim, Archambeau, Cervantes and the witness were behind a barn on the property when the witness heard a gunshot and then Hawkins allegedly shout, “No! Why’d you do it?”
The witness then allegedly told detectives she saw Cervantes come out from behind the barn “with a smirk on his face.”
Court documents allege Cervantes encouraged Archambeau to shoot Hawkins following arguments about Archambeau’s prior relationship with Hawkins.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Cervantes, who is not in custody. If captured, prosecutors have requested he be held without bond.
“This was a brutal and senseless killing,” Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said in a news release Tuesday. “We allege this defendant played a direct role in the death of another man, and then fled the state to avoid justice.”
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