KC teen pleads guilty to second-degree murder in January shooting of Lawrence girl

Ilana Arougheti
·2 min read
9

A Kansas City teen pleaded guilty Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old girl from Lawrence in January.

Davon D. Washington was charged with second-degree murder and illegal juvenile possession of a firearm on Jan. 29. He was a student of the Park Hill School District in Kansas City at the time of the shooting.

Washington is accused of fatally shooting Brianna Higgins, 15, near the Clarion Park Apartments in Olathe on Jan. 19. Brianna was brought to Olathe Medical Center around 11 p.m. that night, where she was declared dead.

Prosecutors say Washington killed Higgins unintentionally but recklessly and showed “extreme indifference to the value of human life,” according to court documents.

Prosecutors initially filed a request to charge Washington as an adult due to the nature of the shooting. He has been held in juvenile detention since Jan. 29.

Assistant District Attorney Chelsea Beshore prosecuted the case with contributions from the Johnson County Crime Lab. More than 70 witnesses were called during Washington’s trial.

Higgins was a sophomore at Lawrence High School. Friends and family described her as bubbly, energetic and outspoken, an old soul who loved playing softball and baseball.

She was close with her family and fiercely loyal, relatives said — one minute laughing at her own jokes and the next minute standing up for a sister or friend.

‘Nobody has closure.’ Family wants answers a week after teen was fatally shot in Olathe

Washington will appear in court June 28 for sentencing. Unintentional, reckless second-degree murder carries a prison sentence of 109 to 493 months in Kansas for adults.

If sentenced as a juvenile, Washington could instead face six to eight months in a juvenile correctional facility followed by a combination of probation and a community-based recidivism program.

A GoFundMe page organized by Higgins’ older sister, Iona Wakole, raised nearly $10,000 toward Higgins’ funeral and related expenses. The fundraiser is now closed.

The Star’s Bill Lukitsch and Andrea Klick contributed to this report.