KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas man accused of killing his sister at an Overland Park home allegedly cut her multiple times and strangled her to death, according to court records.
On Jan. 14, Overland Park police responded to a home in the 5500 block of West 148th Terrace and found Layne Mays on the living room floor with deep cuts to her face and wrists, according to an affidavit. Despite life-saving measures, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
A woman at the home who found Mays and called police said that she believed Parker Mays, 27, to be involved. The woman said that when she left the home around 10 a.m., Layne Mays was alive and alone in the home.
The woman said that when she came home and found the victim, the garage door was open. She said that Parker Mays knew the code, and a garage door opener belonging to him was found on a coffee table inside the home, according to the affidavit.
Video from a neighbor’s house showed a van belonging to Mays pull into the driveway shortly before 12:30 p.m. and leave about a half-hour later. A person could be seen getting out of the van and walking toward the garage doors, the affidavit said.
At 1:30 p.m., a witness called Lenexa police to report a van, matching the description of Mays' vehicle, driving on westbound Interstate 435 to westbound Kansas 10. The witness said that she saw the driver throw a boot, two gloves and a floor mat out of the van while driving.
Officers later recovered the items, some of which had apparent blood on them, according to the affidavit.
Mays returned to his Lawrence home around 4 p.m. in the van and was taken into custody while carrying a trash bag out of his apartment, according to the affidavit. Blood was found on the inside driver’s door of the van.
When interviewed by detectives, Mays denied involvement in his sister’s death and told police that the city of Baldwin had moved. His hands were swabbed and found to be “presumptive for blood,” according to the affidavit.
An autopsy by the medical examiner found that Layne Mays “suffered deep lacerations” but ultimately died of manual strangulation, the affidavit said.
Parker Mays faces a charge of premeditated first-degree murder in Johnson County District Court. He remains jailed on a $1 million bond.
