David Mendez, 45, of Independence, Missouri, was killed in November 2014 after an incident that began at the home he shared with a woman. Two men — one identified as James N. Rhymer — entered the residence in the early morning and demanded items from Mendez and the woman. Mendez left the home with Rhymer and the other man and was later shot in the back seat of a car near 12th and Ewing streets in Kansas City.

After the shooting, Rhymer allegedly drove to a gas station and poured gasoline on Mendez’s body. Deputies were directed by a witness to a field near East 283rd Street and Interstate 49, south of Harrisonville, where Mendez’s body was found at noon on a Friday; a burned truck was also located nearby. Rhymer was later confronted at his Kansas City apartment, barricaded briefly, then surrendered to police around 2 a.m. on a Saturday.

Prosecutors charged Rhymer with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, and he was convicted by a Jackson County jury of second-degree murder, first-degree assault, kidnapping, and three counts of armed criminal action. In July 2017 he received life plus concurrent terms. Anyone with information about Mendez, his movements that morning, or witnesses to the events near 12th and Ewing is asked to come forward.