In the early morning hours of March 25, 2021, the life of Penny Medina, a Hispanic female, was tragically cut short in her Raytown, Missouri, apartment. The events that unfolded were born from a brief and troubled romance that had begun just a month prior, culminating in a violent outburst fueled by jealousy.
Police were first dispatched to the Valencia Apartments before 5 a.m. after reports of gunfire. Upon their arrival, they discovered a harrowing scene.
A woman was on a balcony, screaming for help with a stab wound to her neck. She directed the officers to a nearby apartment where they found Penny Medina inside, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to her torso. As officers rendered aid, Medina identified her ex-boyfriend as the person who had shot her. Both Medina and her friend were rushed to the hospital, but Medina tragically succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation quickly focused on 26-year-old Travione Rogelio Batey-Hernandez of Overland Park, Kansas. Medina and Batey-Hernandez had met on an online dating app about a month before the shooting. Despite her concerns about his clinginess and jealousy, he had recently moved in with her. The situation escalated to the point that Medina had asked her friend to stay the night out of fear.
In the hours leading up to the attack, Batey-Hernandez had been incessantly calling and banging on Medina's door. After Medina eventually opened the door, she ran into her bedroom a short time later, screaming for her friend to call the police as Batey-Hernandez opened fire. After shooting Medina, Batey-Hernandez attacked her friend, punching her and then stabbing her in the neck with a piece of broken glass.
Following the attack, Batey-Hernandez fled the scene. However, he later confessed to the crime to law enforcement. He admitted to breaking a window at the apartment and firing shots inside, striking Medina. He told detectives he was "full of rage" over the amount of time Medina was spending with her friend, stating, "if something is for me, then it's mine." He also admitted to stabbing the friend, believing she should have respected the boundaries of his relationship with Medina.
Travione Rogelio Batey-Hernandez was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and two counts of armed criminal action. He was held in the Johnson County jail before being extradited to Missouri, where prosecutors requested a bond of $500,000.
