Gregory A Fields

Gregory A. Fields, a 29-year-old Black man known for his goofy and loving nature, was a devoted father of two daughters and the man his mother called the "life of the party." His family remembers him as someone who was always there for them, a constant presence whose absence has left a profound void. His life was violently cut short in the early hours of Saturday, March 4, 2017, in a crime that Kansas City, Missouri, police believe was a targeted and deliberate act.

Just after 12:30 a.m., officers from the Kansas City Police Department were dispatched to the area of 37th Street and Garfield Avenue after reports of gunshots. When they arrived, they discovered Gregory inside a vehicle, unresponsive. He had sustained fatal trauma from being shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. The specific address of the incident was later noted by police as 2036 E. 38th Street.

From the outset of the investigation, detectives with the Kansas City Police Department asserted that the shooting was not a random act of violence. Their theory, which they released publicly, was that Gregory had been intentionally lured to that specific location with the purpose of being killed. Investigators worked the scene, but no suspect description was immediately available, and the person or people responsible for arranging the fatal meeting vanished into the night, leaving a family shattered and a community searching for answers.

In the years since Gregory’s murder, his case has remained unsolved, with no arrests made and no charges filed. The investigation, under case number 17-15695, is now handled by the department's homicide unit. One year after his death, Gregory's mother, Valerie Fields, described the agonizing wait for justice. She recalled her son’s playful spirit and the deep love he had for his two young daughters, who were just 7 and 8 years old when he was killed. "He was a good person, he was a good father," she said, grappling with how to explain his permanent absence to his children.

Valerie Fields has been a vocal advocate for her son, pleading with the community for anyone with information to break their silence. "I just want to know why," she stated in an interview. "I just need some closure, I need some peace... Somebody knows something, and I just need for them to come forward and say something. Anything. It doesn't matter how small they think it is." Her pain is a constant reminder of the unresolved nature of the crime. "Every day I've got to wake up with this hurt," she said. "It doesn't go away."

As of March 2018, the investigation into Gregory Fields's homicide is ongoing but has grown cold. The Kansas City Police Department continues to ask for the public's help. Detective Daniel Frazier is the case detective assigned to this unsolved murder. A reward of up to $25,000 is available for information that leads to an arrest in the case. Authorities urge anyone with knowledge about the circumstances that led to Gregory being in the area of 37th and Garfield that night, or about who may have been with him, to contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.