A woman has been charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 18 shooting of a church volunteer at 3rd and Richmond in Kansas City, Kansas, it was announced at a news conference today.
Melanie Perry, 29, a resident of Kansas City, Kansas, was charged with the murder of Lillian V. Jackson. Perry also was charged with discharge of a firearm, according to authorities.
Police Chief Karl Oakman and District Attorney Mark Dupree held a news conference at 3rd and Richmond on Monday.
Jackson, a 62-year-old mother and grandmother, had just finished with her volunteer work at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, and was in her car waiting at a stop sign at 3rd and Richmond on Sept. 18 when she was hit and killed by a stray bullet, according to the police spokesman.
Perry was in jail when she was charged with the murder. She was not in jail on Sept. 18 at the time of the shooting, authorities said.
Detectives were able to track down Perry based on a tip, the spokesman said. They received tips from the TIPS Hotline after Police Chief Oakman made pleas to the community Sept. 30 to come forward with any information in the case.
Perry was already in jail on separate charges of aggravated battery and assault when tips led detectives to her.
“I want to personally thank the community for assisting us with this homicide investigation,” Chief Oakman said. “It was a tip made to the TIPS Hotline that brought us here today, because that tip led detectives to more information. We do not care how old a case is, if we can bring closure to a family that’s hurting and bring justice; well that is what detectives do. Every day they work their tail off to see what they can do to solve crimes. That is why we work well with the District Attorney’s Office so we can make sure we are bringing forth strong cases so we can get justice for families.”
Perry is the only individual currently in custody in this case, and at this point there are no other suspects and they do not anticipate others being charged, although evidence can always come forward later in the case, authorities said today.
Perry is currently in the Wyandotte County Jail, and the bond was set at $250,000.
The Police Department urged anyone with information on any homicide to step forward and contact the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS or KCcrimestoppers.com. All tipsters remain anonymous.