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First homicide of new year near campus

January 16th, 2012 | Add a Comment

Dmarko E. Nicodemus has been charged in Kansas City’s first homicide of 2012.

The new year lasted 10 days without any homicides in Kansas City, and the first one occurred about four miles from the Volker campus.

The first homicide of the year involved Cornell Maxwell, 54, who was found stabbed to death inside his home in the 7100 block of Monroe Avenue by police just after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night, according to an article by KCTV5.

The police were investigating a call made earlier that evening by concerned family members who hadn’t been able to contact him in several days. When they arrived, they found the front door open with no signs of forced entry, according to an article by Christine Vendel of the Kansas City Star. Police believe the victim was killed between 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Maxwell’s 2003, gold four-door Ford Taurus was also found missing from the scene.Police are still looking for the stolen vehicle.

The landlord of Maxwell’s home told the Kansas City Star that he found his garage door open about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and closed it for him, thinking Maxwell had just forgotten. The car was gone at that time.

Osrick Reavis, the apartment manager, told the Kansas City Star that Maxwell had started moving into the house on Dec. 1, moving from the Plaza Square apartments in the 8600 block of Holmes Road, where he lived for four years.

Neighbors say that nothing like this has happened before. Neighbor Sherlynn Chege told KCTV5 that she will be much more cautious as a result of the crime. “I am going to be careful, especially when coming in at night,” she said.

According to court documents, a witness led police to a suspect, who told them he stabbed Maxwell and took items from him. The stolen items were recovered in the suspect’s home.

The murderer has been identified as 22-year-old Dmarko E. Nicodemus. Charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action with a $250,000 bond have been filed against him, according to a KCTV5 article.

khart@unews.com