Benson Lamont Lewis, 49, was fatally shot outside a South Kansas City residence on November 23, 2019. The shooting occurred in the 7900 block of East 117th Street shortly after 8:30 a.m. Lewis had gone outside to speak with a man who had arrived at the home; he was found injured but walked away from the immediate scene before being taken to a hospital, where he died soon after arrival.

Authorities tied the encounter to a custody dispute involving Lewis’s daughter and the child’s father, 24-year-old Terrance D. Wright. Wright reportedly sent threatening texts demanding the child be brought to him, then arrived by vehicle. Witnesses, including Lewis’s daughter, said they did not hear an argument immediately before shots were fired; after the shooting Wright lingered briefly then walked away. He was arrested nearby with a .40-caliber handgun and a loaded magazine. Prosecutors charged Wright with second-degree murder and armed criminal action and set cash bond at $250,000.

The defense argued Wright acted in self-defense. The jury acquitted Wright of murder after less than an hour of deliberation and he was released following about 17 months in custody awaiting trial. Does anyone have information about events the morning of November 23, 2019, or about the people involved?