• Missouri mom killed when party bus doors fly open

    A woman was struck by several cars after falling from a moving party bus on a Kansas City, Mo., interstate. KSHB's Garrett Haake reports.

    By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A 26-year-old Missouri mother died Saturday after falling out of a "party bus" when the vehicle's emergency doors flew open while driving on a busy highway en route to what was supposed to be a fun night out with friends.

    Jamie Frecks was out celebrating a friend's bachelorette party when she fell out of the bus and was struck by at least three vehicles, NBC Kansas City affiliate KSHB reports.

    She was pronounced dead at the scene.

    Frecks's aunt Cynthia Matteson said the family is devastated over the young mother's death and is demanding answers as to how the accident occurred.

    "Why wasn't it secured?" Matteson told KSHB. "A person hires a person for safety, to get you there and back home. Why wasn't she brought back home safe?"

    Eddy Goetz, one of the owners of Midnight Express party bus, which operates the vehicle, said the company has "no idea" how the doors could have come open.

    In a statement to KSBH, Goetz said:  "On behalf of the owners and employees of Midnight Express party bus, we want to express our sincere sympathy for the family and friends touched by Saturday night’s tragic accident that took the life of Jamie Frecks. We are trying to find out how the tragic accident could have happened. We will cooperate fully with everyone to find out the cause of this accident."

    Frecks leaves behind a 5-month-old child.

  • Kansas City homeless raise money for girl with cancer

    By Craig Giammona, NBC News

    The men who frequent City Union Mission's emergency homeless shelter in downtown Kansas City don't have much but for the last two years, they've been  quietly raising money to help defray the medical expenses of a local girl with leukemia.

    And last week, Payton Adams, 4, and her mother visited the shelter for the first time and met some of the men who have been helping the family.


    "It is amazing how these guys who have very little, how pennies up to dollars, dollars add up to hundreds. We have sometimes come out of here with $500, $300, whatever they have," LeiLani Adams, Payton's mom, told local NBC affiliate KSHB. "It has really been a blessing."

    Officials at the shelter said the fundraising project was started by Johnny Evans, the evening manager at the shelter.

    Evans, a former shelter resident who now works there, is also a security guard at the daycare center that Payton attends and got to know the family there, said Laurie Grant, City Union Mission's media coordinator.

    Grant said the shelter staff had no idea about the fundraising project until recently, when a member of the staff overheard Evans talking about it.

    "That's how we realized it was going on," Grant said. "There can be negative stereotypes about the homeless, but with your clients you get to know them and you realize they want to help and have a purpose and be part of something bigger. It wasn't just pennies and nickles and dimes — there were dollars in there."

    The men at the shelter have been collecting the donations in large plastic water jugs. Last week marked the third time the men have delivered a jug of donations to the family.

  • Body pulled from wreckage of KC restaurant destroyed in gas explosion

    A huge gas explosion thought to have been caused by a contractor doing underground work wrecked a landmark restaurant in Kansas City, Mo. More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze at its height, and by daybreak the devastation was revealed. NBC's John Yang reports.

    By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Authorities pulled a body Wednesday from the wreckage of a landmark restaurant in Kansas City, Mo., where a natural gas explosion caused a spectacular fire.


    At least 14 people were injured Tuesday night when a blaze tore through JJ’s Restaurant, part of an upscale business and shopping district. Searchers with cadaver dogs had sifted through the rubble for hours overnight looking for the lone person missing, a woman who worked at the restaurant.

    The cause of the gas explosion remained under investigation. A statement released by Missouri Gas Energy said early indications were that a contractor doing underground work struck a natural gas line.

    More than 100 firefighters responded to the 6 p.m. blast at JJ’s Restaurant in Country Club Plaza, an upscale business and shopping district of Kansas City. Flames shot up through the night sky, destroying the renowned Midwest dining spot as firefighters worked in below-freezing temperatures. The fire was largely under control a couple of hours later.

    “JJ’s Restaurant is totally gone,” Kansas City Fire Department Chief Paul Berardi said. 

    David Frantzè, the restaurant owner's brother, said the loss of the beloved eatery is a major blow to the city.

    "My brother just spent 27 years of his life running this business. He's built it into one of the fine restaurants in Kansas City," Frantzè said. "To come down here and to see a hole in the ground in flames is a pretty staggering experience."

    Nearby residences and apartments suffered damage after the explosion and blaze, authorities said, including a building adjacent to the restaurant with a collapsed wall.

    NBC News

    Crews work near the smoldering remains at the scene of an explosion in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 20.

    “There will be scattered damage throughout the immediate vicinity of the incident,” James said.

    It was at first thought that two people might be missing in the blaze, but authorities said that one of those people was located at St. Luke’s Hospital around midnight. 

    With a major winter storm approaching, rescuers moved in heavy construction equipment on Wednesday to lift fallen debris, which was three to four feet thick over the floor of the destroyed eatery, Berardi said.

    Witnesses told NBC station KSHB that they smelled natural gas in the area of the restaurant at least an hour before the explosion. 

    “KCFD are on the scene and will conduct a thorough investigation of what caused the explosion,” Berardi said. “We will continue to bring out the dogs and clear that scene and then an investigation will occur.”

    JJ’s has been in business since 1985, and was widely regarded as a premier city dining location, earning a 93 rating from Zagat’s. The restaurant’s wine cellar had been listed by The Wine Spectator as among the finest in the world.

    Authorities are still searching for possible victims after a natural gas explosion outside a popular restaurant sparked a five-alarm fire that injured at least 14 people. NBC's John Yang reports.

    This story was originally published on Wed Feb 20, 2013 8:40 AM EST

  • Belcher was asleep in car shortly before killing, police dash cam video shows

    Hours before the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend, he was found sleeping in his car. Those moments were recorded by a police cruiser's dash camera. NBC's Michelle Franzen reports.

    By The Associated Press

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Police released video Friday night that shows officers finding Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher asleep in his car just hours before he killed his girlfriend and later shot himself.


    The recording was among two dashboard videos made available by police nearly a week after the murder-suicide. The second video shows an officer responding to Arrowhead Stadium, where Belcher shot himself in front of team officials shortly after killing Kasandra Perkins at their home on Dec. 1.

    The first video shows officers finding Belcher asleep in his parked car around 3 a.m. that day outside an apartment complex. Officers talk to him, and he identifies himself as a Chiefs player.

    Police said he was cooperative and told officers he was there to visit a woman he described as his girlfriend but that she wasn't home. The video shows Belcher later stepping out of his car and thanking officers, saying he's going to go upstairs.

    Police have said a woman allowed Belcher into the building, though she wasn't identified.

    The second video begins around 8 a.m. from the dashboard of a patrol car speeding to the stadium. Officers can be heard over the police radio confirming there had been a shooting connected to Belcher, and later that there was an armed suspect at the stadium.

    The video shows the police vehicle arriving at a stadium parking lot and the officer stepping out, asking over his radio that other responding officers cut off their sirens, which can be heard in the distance.

    "I've got a sighting from afar, it looks like they're in a negotiation ... I need a rifle asap," the officer says as he walks toward the parking lot. "I'm at the south side. I'm at the main entrance, trying to sneak up on foot."

    The video cuts off seconds later.

    Police have said officers were called to Belcher's home around 7:50 a.m., after he fatally shot Perkins, whose body was found on the floor of the master bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds. Belcher and Perkins had a 3-month-old daughter, Zoey.

    Belcher then drove about five miles to the stadium, where he was met by general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel, whom Belcher thanked for all they had done for him. When police arrived at the stadium, Belcher moved behind a vehicle, out of clear view of officers, knelt down and shot himself once in the head, according to police spokesman Darin Snapp.

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    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • In 911 call, Kansas City linebacker's mom begs his girlfriend, 'Stay with me'

    In a frantic 911 call from Jovan Belcher's home following the murder of his girlfriend Kassandra Perkins, the linebacker's mom can be heard pleading with his girlfriend to stay alive.

    /

    Inside linebacker Jovan Belcher #59 of the Kansas City Chiefs wathces from the sideliens during his final game against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 25, 2012 in Kansas City, Missouri.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    While Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher was en route to Arrowhead Stadium early Saturday, about to kill himself, his mother placed a frantic 911 call to authorities during which she can be heard begging his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, not to die from her wounds.

    "She's still breathing, but barely," Cheryl Shepherd, Belcher's mother, told the 911 dispatcher Saturday morning, in a call released by the Kansas City Fire Department on Tuesday. "Please hurry. I don't know how many times he got her. They were arguing."

     

    As a dispatcher tells her help is on the way, Shepherd yells, "Kasandra, stay with me, the ambulance is on the way, you hear me? You hear me? Kasandra! Hey! Stay with me!"

    Belcher, 25, and Perkins, 22, lived together with their three-month-old daughter, Zoey, and Belcher's mother, Shepherd. The murder-suicide was described in detail by The Kansas City Star, which reported that the couple had been arguing over their relationship and finances. 

    On Saturday morning, Belcher allegedly shot Perkins, kissed her and Zoey, then headed to the team's practice facility, where he thanked his coached and fired a single shot in his head, saying, "I can't be here," according to sources.

    In the 911 call released Tuesday, a baby can be heard crying in the background while Shepherd speaks with the dispatcher.

    "Okay, listen ma’am, is she awake?" the dispatcher asks.

    "Just barely, she's just barely open," Shepherd responds.

    "Can she hear what you're saying?"

    "Yes, she is moving when I talk to her. Please, God," Shepherd says. 

     "Okay. Is she bleeding?" the dispatcher asks. 

    "Yes, she is," Shepherd says, as the baby began to cry. 

    "Where is she bleeding from?"

    "I can't tell, in the back, it looks like it," Shepherd tells her, anxiety rising in her voice.

    A second dispatcher from the Kansas City Police Department then gets on the line and asks Shepherd where her son is.

    "He left," Shepherd says. "Please just get this ambulance here. Please."


    Police arrived at the couple's home at about 7:50 a.m. Saturday morning to find Perkins' body on the floor of the master bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a police incident report. 

    Hours before the shooting, police found Belcher sleeping in his car outside an apartment complex about 10 miles away from his and Perkins' home. He told officers he was at the apartment to visit a woman he said was his girlfriend, but that she wasn't home. Belcher then made a phone call and a woman let him into the building, The Associated Press reported.

    It's not clear who the woman was.

    Belcher and Perkins had been living apart recently but got back together by Thanksgiving, friend Brianne York told The Associated Press.

    Belcher's mother has been given temporary custody of the child. 

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  • Kansas City cop accused of sex with women in exchange for no arrest

    By Mitch Weber, of NBC's kshb.com

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A 13-year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department is behind bars after allegedly having sex with two women in exchange for not arresting them, NBC station kshb.com reported.

    Officer Jeffrey Holmes turned himself in on Monday. He is facing two felony counts of acceding to corruption by a public servant.

    When the investigation began in April, he was taken off patrol and moved into an administrative assignment.

    When the second victim came forward in May, he was suspended with pay. Now that he’s been charged, he is suspended without pay.

    According to court documents, the first victim who came forward said that Holmes raped her at the Extended Stay on 105th Street in Kansas City, Mo.

    Read more from NBC station kshb.com

    The woman told police that he threatened to bust her for prostitution if she didn't have sex with him. She said he was dressed in a uniform with a gun.

    At first, the victim thought Holmes was a security guard -- until she recognized him when she went to South Patrol to file a police report that her car had been stolen.

    The victim and a hotel clerk identified Holmes during a line-up.

    The second victim who came forward told police that Holmes asked her if she was a prostitute, and then forced her to take him back to her room at the A-1 Motel on 87th Street.

    'Very good day'
    She told officers he threatened to arrest her for marijuana she had in the room if she didn't have sex with him. She said he was wearing a KCPD uniform at the time.

    Jean Peters Baker, Jackson County prosecutor, said Holmes was off-duty when both incidents allegedly occurred.

    "It's extremely disappointing and it's actually infuriating, but it's also [a] very good day when someone like that who wears the blue uniform and carried the badge no longer will,” Baker said. “We don't want an individual like that in the department, and I know (Kansas City Police) Chief Forté shares that opinion as well."

    Baker said the women will not face any prostitution or drug charges.

    "The conduct we are most concerned with here is a police officer who, in exchange for a benefit, got women to do things that he wouldn't have otherwise," she said.

    Holmes is being held on a $25,000 bond.

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  • Pediatrician admits possessing more than 100,000 child porn images, videos

    Dr. Todd Parrilla, a Connecticut pediatrician, has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

    By NBCConnecticut.com

    A Connecticut pediatrician has admitted to possessing more than 100,000 child porn images and videos.


    Todd Parrilla, 48, pleaded guilty in Hartford Federal Court Monday.

    Federal authorities began an investigation into Parrilla in July 2011, after a law enforcement officer in Kansas City, Mo., downloaded 104 images of child pornography from a directory on an internet file-sharing program maintained by Parrilla, according to prosecutors.

    "This is a heinous crime," said David Fein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. "That it was committed by a pediatrician, whose profession is committed to the well-being of children, makes it especially disturbing."

    For more information go to NBCConnecticut.com

    Parrilla was arrested in August 2011. FBI agents seized two computers and three detachable hard drives from Parrilla's home. Analysis of the computers and hard drives revealed more than 100,000 pictures and more than 10,000 videos depicting child pornography, according to prosecutors.

    Parrilla was working as a pediatrician at the time of his arrest.

    He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 24.

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  • Police: Child tried to escape locked room to beg for food

    Police say Dickson and Skipper kept their son locked in a room for days without anything to eat or drink

    By Louis Casiano, msnbc.com

    A North Carolina couple has been arrested for allegedly locking their 14-year-old son in a bedroom without food or water for days, NBC station WCNC in Charlotte reported. 


    The station reported that Joy Evonne Skipper, 45, and Johnny Rufus Dickson, 41, have been charged with child abuse, inflicting serious bodily injury and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. 

    The couple boarded up the windows to the bedroom the boy was staying in, WCNC reported. 

    The Associated Press reported that the boy tried to escape to beg for food from neighbors. 

    When police found him he was dehydrated, but is expected to recover. 

    Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com

    Skipper and Dickson were released Saturday on $15,000 and $25,000 bonds, WCNC reported. 

    A mother in Kansas City, Mo., was also arrested and charged over the weekend after her 10-year-old daughter was found locked inside a closet. The girl weighed only 32 pounds.

    She was charged with child abuse and assault. 

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