KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two walkers in Waldo’s Tower Park discovered the body of a woman inside a car Friday. It’s the latest death in one of the city’s public green spaces.
Kansas City police identified the victim as 25-year-old Destiny Weaver of Kansas City, and this case is a homicide.
The two sisters, who say they’ve been walking in the park near 76th Street and Holmes Road, every morning this week, spotted the body of a young, black woman inside a Kia Soul parked near them just before 8 a.m.
It was obvious to the women that something was wrong.
One saw the victim slumped in between the two front seats of the car with her mouth open and spotted dried blood on her clothing.
The women had difficulty calling for help because it took them a moment to come to grips with what they were seeing.
“I saw the woman slumped over in the middle part of the seat on the driver’s side,” said Mollie Parker, who discovered the body. “I walked by and I said, ‘Let me back up and look at her again.’ Because she looked strange. Her mouth was open. I back up and I saw she wasn’t breathing.”
Police say the death is considered suspicious and they are urging anyone who may know what happened to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-8477.
The witnesses who found the woman tell FOX 4 they recognized seeing her in the park Thursday in the same car, but she was alive and smoking a cigarette.
Police say they have yet to determine when this death happened.
“I can’t remember nothing like this happening in this park, because I’ve been coming here for years,” said Panora Jackson, who called 911 to report the body.
There is some concern about another death in a city park, but police say people should not be afraid to enjoy the parks. Green spaces are among the safest places statistically in Kansas City.
If you have information that will assist investigators, call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.