Sage Walston, 22, was found in the road at Linwood Boulevard and Elmwood Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, in the early hours of August 20, 2020. Officers responding to a medical call initially noted glass near his body and a possible hit-and-run, but investigators determined Walston had been shot in the head.

Detectives traced the case to 26-year-old Martel L. Harrison using surveillance footage, license plate reader data, and witness statements. Walston’s Toyota Corolla was seen in the area around the time of the shooting; a nearby camera’s microphone recorded a single gunshot. Witnesses said Harrison paid for gasoline later used to set the car on fire, confessed to shooting Walston in the back of the head, and used Sage’s phone afterward. The burned car was found two hours after the shooting in a church parking lot in Independence.

In March 2023 a Jackson County jury convicted Martel L. Harrison of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and knowingly exploding or burning property. Harrison faced a mandatory life sentence without parole for first-degree murder and was scheduled for sentencing in June 2023. If anyone knew Sage or has information about the events that night, please come forward.