Independence woman fatally shot boyfriend for texting other women, court records allege
A 25-year-old Independence woman is facing an accusation of murder after she allegedly shot and killed her boyfriend in eastern Jackson County last week.
Katie L. Black is charged with second-degree felony murder, armed criminal action, domestic assault and illegal firearm use, according to records filed in Jackson County Circuit Court.
The charges stem from the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man who died in Sibley on the evening of July 7. Authorities have not released the name of the victim.
Police were summoned to a dead-end road in Sibley near an access to the Missouri River following a report of a person suffering from a gunshot wound. Arriving officers found Black at the scene standing next to a white Chevy Tahoe as emergency officials were preparing to take her boyfriend to the hospital.
At the scene and during a later interview with a Jackson County Sheriff’s detective, authorities claim Black offered multiple conflicting accounts of what happened.
In her initial story, Black allegedly told an investigator her boyfriend was shot during a struggle with an unknown man outside of their parked SUV. She described hearing the sound of two gunshots before the man ran away toward the railroad tracks. Then, she told police, she dialed 911 while applying pressure to her boyfriend’s wound.
During an interview at the agency’s headquarters, Black allegedly admitted to shooting her boyfriend but described what transpired as an accident.
First she told police he walked in front of her gun while she was practicing shooting, court records said. Then she admitted to firing the gun in his direction to scare him but wound up striking him, authorities allege.
Police also interviewed a relative of the man killed that day. The relative told a detective Black was angry with her boyfriend because she discovered he was sending romantic text messages to other women, according to court records.
That witness told police Black planned to shoot him in the leg to show him he was “f------- with the wrong woman,” court records allege.
During her interview with a detective, Black allegedly admitted to arguing with her boyfriend about a number of things, including her desire to use his phone.
Officers recovered three shell casings possibly belonging to two separate guns while processing the crime scene, court records show.
A pink handgun with the same caliber as two of the casings was found inside the rear compartment of the SUV, which is registered to Black. There was blood on the tailgate, the tailgate handle and the quarter panel, according to court documents.
Black is being held in Jackson County jail on $50,000 bond.
