Northeast News

BREAKING-Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced on Monday, Sept. 29, charges against a Kansas City woman for allegedly striking a man to death and then setting an apartment unit on fire earlier this month in Kansas City’s Northeast neighborhood. 

Dianna A. Brown faces 2nd Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action, 2nd Degree Arson, and Tampering with Physical Evidence in a Felony Prosecution. 

According to court records, the Kansas City Fire Department was dispatched to an apartment building near Kensington Avenue and Independence Avenue on Sept. 19 on a reported fire. After extinguishing the fire, which was contained to only one portion of the building, firefighters located a deceased male with severe burns, apparent head trauma, and signs of decomposition. 

Kansas City Police Homecide Detectives responded to the scene and found mail and prescription medication belonging to the defendant at this location. 

The Medical Examiner determined the victim’s cause of death as blunt force trauma of the head and the manner of death as homicide. 

On Sept. 27, detectives interviewed the defendant. She said that on Sept. 14, she was with the victim at his apartment when an argument began. After the argument stopped and the victim went to sleep, the defendant told detectives she used a nearby hammer to strike the victim multiple times. She said she continued to live in the apartment until setting it on fire on Sept. 19.

The defendant is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond. 

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s office states that these charges are only accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or pleads guilty.