Taylor Thomas was 29 when she was found unresponsive in a yard in the 3200 block of East Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City in the early morning hours of June 17, 2024. She was discovered with a gunshot wound to the back of her head and neck, taken to a hospital and pronounced dead on June 19. Thomas was a White/Caucasian woman and a mother of seven who worked as a certified nursing assistant; her family described her as outgoing, loving and caring.

Investigators focused on 37-year-old Richard Gerard Harris Jr. after eyewitnesses and surveillance footage allegedly showed the two arguing near a red Kia later identified as a stolen vehicle. The footage reportedly captured Harris striking Thomas, throwing her to the ground and then shooting her before fleeing in the car. Witnesses told police Harris had been violent toward Thomas and had controlled her finances, with allegations he coerced her into prostitution.

If anyone saw activity around East Linwood Boulevard on June 17 or has information about the relationship between Thomas and Harris, please come forward.