On December 4, 2017, police in Kansas City, Missouri, responded to a reported shooting at the Benton Market located at 1800 Benton Boulevard. Upon arrival at the parking lot outside the business, officers discovered the body of Phillip Degnan, an adult male who had suffered fatal gunshot wounds. Shell casings were recovered near the victim's body, and investigators immediately began reviewing surveillance footage from the establishment to identify the perpetrator.
Detectives determined
that Degnan had been involved in a verbal altercation with another patron in the parking lot shortly before the shooting. The video evidence showed the two men arguing before the suspect left the area, only to return a short time later armed with a handgun. The assailant then shot Degnan before fleeing the scene on foot, heading westbound toward Prospect Avenue.
Police identified the suspect as 62-year-old Victor D. Kelley. Kelley was taken into custody on December 17, 2017, and subsequently waived his Miranda rights to speak with detectives. During the interrogation, authorities reported that Kelley confessed to the shooting, admitting he had argued with the victim and later discarded the weapon in a nearby grassy field. Prosecutors charged Kelley with second-degree murder and armed criminal action, holding him on a $250,000 cash bond.
