In a grim discovery on the morning of February 2, 2020, the body of Derrick Lee Wallace, a 31-year-old man, was found in Kansas City, Missouri. The initial report to authorities described a body on top of a shopping cart in a burned area of what appeared to be an abandoned homeless camp near Ninth Street and Hardesty Avenue. When officers arrived, the body was so severely burned it was still smoldering.
Subsequent investigation by the Jackson County Medical Examiner revealed a more
violent end for Wallace than the fire alone might suggest. An autopsy uncovered several gunshot wounds, leading the case to be classified as a homicide. The examination also noted skull fractures, which were likely caused by the intense heat of the fire, though blunt force trauma could not be entirely ruled out as a contributing factor to his death.
The investigation into Wallace's death led police to Mark Salisbury, a 41-year-old from Columbia, Missouri. Salisbury was taken into custody the day after Wallace's body was found, at a residence known to be a gathering place for transients. According to court records and police statements, Salisbury confessed to killing Wallace, even bragging about it to another individual and sending a message on social media admitting to the crime.
During his confession to investigators, Salisbury provided a motive for the killing. He claimed that Wallace was one of five men who had allegedly sexually assaulted a relative of his. Salisbury stated that he and another person had gone to Wallace's apartment with the intention of scaring him out of the area. He alleged that the other individual struck Wallace with a machete. Salisbury, who was armed, claimed his gun 'went off' while he was talking with his hands. He said he was frightened and fled the apartment, hearing Wallace yell for them to stop and that he would leave. Prosecutors charged Mark Salisbury with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was held on a $250,000 cash-only bond. Salisbury had previous felony convictions, including for statutory sodomy and tampering with a motor vehicle.
