In a tragic turn of events, 30-year-old Jennifer Zimmerman of Kansas City was killed on November 10, 2017, in a triple homicide. The shooting, which also claimed the lives of 25-year-old Yessenia Ahumada and a man who was later identified as Victor Portillo, occurred inside a house at the corner of 17th Street and Chelsea Avenue. Family members indicated that Zimmerman may have recently changed her last name to Portillo.
The incident unfolded shortly before 10 a.m.
when a female victim called the police to report that she had been wounded in a shooting. Upon their arrival, officers discovered a man, Victor Portillo, already deceased. Another woman, Yessenia Ahumada, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly thereafter. Jennifer Zimmerman, the initial caller, was transported to a local hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.
Nearly a year later, in August 2018, prosecutors filed charges against Deaundre J. Brown, then 27, in connection with the triple murder. Brown was charged with three counts of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The motive for the killings appeared to be a drug deal gone wrong. According to investigators, Brown was the ex-boyfriend of Yessenia Ahumada and had arranged to purchase a large quantity of marijuana from Victor Portillo. Ahumada reportedly set up the deal.
Court documents revealed that a witness told police Brown had intended to buy 20 pounds of marijuana. When Portillo did not have the full amount, he told Brown to come back the next morning. The fatal shootings occurred during this subsequent meeting. Cellphone records confirmed communication between Ahumada and Brown the night before the incident, and surveillance footage allegedly showed their vehicles together on the morning of the murders. A witness also reported hearing gunshots and seeing a white sedan, similar to one owned by Brown, speeding away from the scene.
