On the morning of June 13, 2013, Jimmy Wayne Clark, a 57-year-old Native American veteran, was found dead on a mattress in an alley behind the BP at Independence Avenue and Van Brunt Boulevard in northeast Kansas City. The mattress was in an area used as a makeshift camp by people experiencing homelessness. Responding officers did not immediately determine the cause of death, but a medical examiner investigator noted a suspicious wound and police treated the death as a homicide.

Clark was described by friends as kind but struggling with alcoholism. He grew up on a reservation, was a former U.S. Army servicemember, and kept ties to his tribe. He supported himself with odd jobs, attended a nearby church, and left behind a son, two daughters and two granddaughters; two children arrived at the scene after his body was discovered.

Detectives questioned several people who had been with Clark the night before; one man reported seeing him around 8:00 p.m. and four people were taken to headquarters for questioning, though no charges were announced. The investigation was active as detectives worked to reconstruct the timeline.

If anyone knew Clark, his routines, or saw activity around the BP lot on June 12–13, please come forward with information.