On October 30, 2017, police in Independence, Missouri, responded to a residence in the 12500 block of East 43rd Street South after receiving a call about a door being kicked in and a resident failing to respond. Upon entering the home, officers discovered the body of 72-year-old white male William F. Domann in a bedroom. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his face and arm, with evidence of stippling and muzzle flash burns indicating the shots were fired at close range.
Investigators found trails of blood leading away from the scene, suggesting one of the intruders had been injured during the attack.
The investigation revealed a complex web of relationships and motives centering on a dispute over a vehicle. A woman identified as Domann’s girlfriend told detectives that her ex-boyfriend, Nathan Hendricks, had been threatening to harm Domann. The conflict reportedly stemmed from a stolen Corvette that Hendricks had asked Domann to hide; Hendricks later demanded the vehicle back. Prosecutors alleged that Hendricks recruited two other men, Xavier Otero and Onelio Garcia, to rob Domann, purportedly targeting a large sum of money. On the morning of the murder, Hendricks drove Otero and Garcia to Domann’s home and waited nearby while the two men forcibly entered the house.
Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed a man, later identified as Otero, limping through a parking lot shortly after the crime, apparently injured. He was seen signaling to a white pickup truck, which then collected him. DNA analysis matched the blood found at the crime scene to Otero. Authorities launched a manhunt for the suspects. Otero and Garcia were apprehended in early November 2017 in Kansas City, Kansas. Hendricks fled the state but was eventually captured on November 20, 2017, by federal officers in Gulfport, Mississippi, where he was found hiding behind a residence.
Legal proceedings followed for the accused men. In January 2020, Xavier Otero pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree burglary, attempted first-degree robbery, and two counts of armed criminal action. He was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. Nathan Hendricks was also convicted for his role in the conspiracy and received a twenty-year prison sentence. The case against the third suspect, Onelio Garcia, was part of the broader prosecution involving the home invasion that resulted in Domann's death.
