Charges have been filed against Elizabeth Stivers’ neighbor, 24-year-old Darion Hall, for her murder last week.

On Wednesday, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office announced charges have been filed in connection to the Tuesday, March 14 homicide of Elizabeth Stivers in the 4300 block of East 7th Street. Darion Hall, 24, of Kansas City, faces one count of Second Degree Murder, one count of Tampering with a Motor Vehicle and one count of Attempted Stealing in connection to the case and other crimes committed the evening of Stivers’ death.

Court records show that Kansas City, Mo., police officers (KCPD) were called to 4317 E. 7th St. on a reported disturbance at approximately 9 p.m. on the evening of March 14. Upon arrival, officers located Stivers lying in the yard of her residence, suffering from an apparent trauma. Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) personnel attempted life saving measures on the victim and transported her to a local hospital where she was declared deceased.

Court records show that the victim’s mother stated she was inside the residence she shares with the victim and said that the victim indicated that she was going back to a neighbor’s residence located at 4321 E. 7th St. at approximately 9 p.m.

The victim’s mother indicated she then let the dogs out in the front yard at approximately 9:10 p.m. and after going back in the house to retrieve her cell phone and a flashlight, heard what sounded like a rustling noise coming from the side of the house. Upon going to the side of the house, she observed the victim, Stivers, lying on the ground. After calling 911, she observed a tall, slender, black male dressed in a white hooded sweatshirt who asked if she needed help. She instructed the individual to “keep walking,” believing him to be the stepson of the people who reside at 4321 E. 7th St.

A relative of the black male approached her and asked, “Did Darion do this?” citing the suspect. That relative, Hall’s stepmother, told police that Hall and the victim had been together prior to the discovery of the body, speaking to each other on the porch. She indicated that the victim then left to “run home” at a little before 9 p.m. The stepmother then stated she heard people yelling outside and attempted to contact the victim via her cell phone but she did not pick up.

After police and emergency personnel arrived on the scene, the stepmother was shown a picture of Hall taken from surveillance video at a local Walgreens drug store and indicated it resembled Hall based on what he was wearing earlier in the day. She also indicated that Hall and the victim allegedly had a previous physical relationship but that Stivers had secured a restraining order against Hall due to his violent nature.

Earlier in the day, Hall allegedly stole his grandfather’s truck from his residence in the 2400 block of Cleveland Avenue. Shortly afterward, Hall went inside the Phillips 66 located at 5712 Independence Ave., confronting an individual just inside the doors of the store. On surveillance video, Hall can be seen reaching into the pockets of the victim, then taking a cigarette from the victim’s mouth, pushing him away, then punching him in the face. Hall then chases the subject out of the store, westbound on the Avenue.

Shortly after that altercation, Hall allegedly attempted to rob the Walgreens drug store located at 5400 Independence Ave. Surveillance video shows a person matching Hall’s description entering the store at roughly 7:50 p.m., walking directly behind a front counter where he attempts to open a cash register with his hands. Hall then shoves a clerk away from him and punches the screen of the cash register with his fist. Unable to open the cash register, Hall jumps over the counter, breaking a plexi-glass COVID shield and exits the business. In each of the surveillance videos, Hall is seen wearing the same clothing.

Based on descriptions given to police in the previous incidents, Hall was taken into custody at approximately 9:30 p.m. in the 3400 block of E. 6th Street, roughly 20 minutes after the altercation with Stivers, wearing the same hooded sweatshirt described by the two witnesses.

During the arrest, Hall allegedly became combative with officers, attempting to hit one of the officers with a head butt. Hall was quickly assisted to a prone position where he remained until a transport wagon arrived. Hall was transported to a detention facility where he again became combative with detention officers and, at one point in time while sitting on a bench in the detention facility, he was heard to say without provocation, “They gonna catch me for a robbery and not what I really did.”

Officers noted that Hall’s clothing had blood on it and he had abrasions on his hands consistent with his alleged activities earlier in the day. He was booked into the detention facility at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 15.

During his interview with police, Hall stated he had “been drunk all day” and didn’t remember anything. Hall initially denied knowing the victim, but after being shown a picture of Stivers, Hall indicated her name was “Elizabeth” and she lived close to his father and stepmother’s residence on 7th Street. Hall then denied seeing Stivers the day of the homicide, then told officers, “I don’t wanna talk to you anymore,” and the interview ended. He was returned to his cell, then released from custody at approximately 3:30 p.m. on March 15, pending further investigation.

On March 17, detectives requested a rush analysis of the DNA collected from the victim to be tested against the clothing Hall was arrested in. The lab report confirmed the blood from Hall’s clothing matched that of the victim.

Following an autopsy, Stivers’ cause of death has been determined as strangulation.

Hall was arrested on Friday, March 25, in Kansas City. Prosecutors have requested a $150,000 bond.