The Pleasant Hill community was rocked in early January 2022 when 39-year-old Sara B. Maloney was found shot to death in the bedroom of a home on the 18000 block of South Purvis Road. Maloney had been living at that residence for about two months and was reported missing on January 9, 2022, after family grew concerned when they couldn’t reach her and she missed a niece’s birthday gathering.

Maloney’s father went to the residence he shared with 31-year-old Levi G. Mitchell and, according to court documents, Mitchell initially said she was asleep but then admitted to shooting her. Cellphone pings placed Maloney’s device near the Purvis Road home. Deputies executing a search warrant found her body; medical examiners estimated the fatal gunshot to the head occurred around January 7.

Mitchell fled but was tracked via surveillance footage to rural Raymore. He was located late January 9 on Mullen Road after a brief standoff and a K9 located him hiding in a bedroom. The Cass County Prosecutor charged him with second-degree murder and armed criminal action; he was held without bond. Anyone with information about Sara or the case is asked to come forward.