KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Platte County Sheriff's Department investigators identified and interviewed a person of interest in the Jan. 10, 2025, road rage murder of a well-known Platte County sportswriter.
Law officers found Dennis Sharkey, Jr., shot to death inside his white 2019 Chevrolet Spark at the bottom of an embankment off Interstate 29 at Northwest 72nd Street.
A spokesperson for the Platte County Sheriff's Department said in a statement to KSHB 41 that the department still "have reason to believe the shooting death of Mr. Sharkey was the result of a random road rage incident."
The Metro Squad, a specially-trained team of detectives, investigated Sharkey's death, but did not make an arrest.
Sharkey's family spoke with KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne shortly after Sharkey's death. You can watch the report in the video player below.
"He was a great man and he always made you smile," Dennis' cousin, Samantha Sharkey, said. "What happened to him was senseless and I don't understand."
His family also told Ledonne Sharkey joined his family to tailgate in Lot C and cheer in the stands at every Chiefs home game for 30 years
Sharkey's death came just before the Chiefs' playoff game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium against the Houston Texans.
"It just doesn't make sense," family-friend Sadie Grigsby said. "You don't think it could be somebody you love and somebody so close to you, but it can happen to anybody. Please, if you just have anything please come forward cause this is no way for somebody to go. No way."
Sharkey's murder was not the only tragedy to befall the family in January.
His mother's husband died a few days before Sharkey's murder.
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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.
