On July 20, 2020, tragedy struck in the 2700 block of Van Brunt Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri. Diamon Eichelburger, a 20-year-old female, was walking through the parking lot of a 7-Eleven convenience store just before noon. She was pushing her one-year-old daughter in a stroller and was accompanied by her boyfriend. Eichelburger was approximately four to five months pregnant at the time.
As she was leaving the store, a gray vehicle approached the group, and an occupant inside the car called out to her, asking if she was Diamon. When she confirmed her identity, asking 'Yeah, why?' someone from inside the vehicle opened fire.
Eichelburger was struck multiple times by the gunfire and was declared dead at the scene by responding officers. Her one-year-old daughter, who was in the stroller just inches away from the shooting, was physically unharmed but was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. The shooters fled the scene immediately after the attack. The gruesome nature of the crime, committed in broad daylight against a pregnant mother with her young child, shocked the local community and law enforcement officials, who vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
Investigators quickly turned their attention to surveillance footage and social media activity to identify the suspects. On July 22, 2020, police arrested 19-year-old Jovon Burrell. Burrell admitted to being the driver of the vehicle involved in the homicide. According to prosecutors, Burrell claimed he did not know the passenger who fired the shots or the reason for the shooting. However, evidence presented by authorities included a disturbing post made on Burrell's social media account shortly after the murder, which displayed the crime scene and included a caption mocking the victim's death. Burrell was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Further investigation led authorities to a second suspect more than a year later. In November 2021, prosecutors charged 19-year-old David W. Everson with second-degree murder and armed criminal action for his role in the killing. Detectives utilized license plate readers and social media records to link Everson to the crime. Court documents revealed that Everson’s cell phone contained incriminating text messages where he allegedly bragged about the shooting, stating he had hit the victim five times. While Everson initially denied involvement when interviewed in 2020, blaming a juvenile for the shots, the subsequent evidence led to his formal charging as the investigation continued to unfold.
