In the early morning hours of November 25, 2018, in Kansas City, Missouri, a 47-year-old woman named Donna McKeown was found slumped over in the front seat of a Dodge Avenger. Police had been dispatched to a residence in the 3400 block of East 54th Street around 5:49 a.m. to investigate a reported shooting. McKeown had sustained a gunshot wound to the left side of her neck and was transported to a hospital where she later died from her injuries.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner's office ruled her death a homicide, noting there was no evidence of a close-range gunshot, which contradicted any suggestion of suicide.
The initial investigation led police to question Damon D. Kerr, then 43, who was at the residence. Kerr, the father of McKeown's three children, gave conflicting statements to the authorities. He initially claimed that McKeown had been angry with him for coming home late, around 2:30 a.m., and had left, only to return later. In another account, he told police he had spoken with her in the car, went back inside the house, and then heard a gunshot. Kerr denied shooting her.
A significant breakthrough in the case came when Kerr consented to a police search of his cellphone. The search revealed incriminating evidence, including text messages sent to McKeown before the shooting and a Google search for 'how to remove gunshot residue off his hands.' This discovery, coupled with the medical examiner's findings, led to charges being filed against Kerr in February 2019. He was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Prosecutors requested a cash bond of $150,000.
Following a jury trial in March 2022, Damon Kerr, then 46, was convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Donna McKeown. The trial took place three years after the charges were initially filed. He was scheduled to be sentenced by a Jackson County judge on May 6, 2022. Donna McKeown was remembered as a happy person who was always smiling and laughing, and who deeply cared for her children.
