On August 13, 2017, Steven 'Gibby' Gibbons, a 57-year-old white male from Kansas City, Missouri, was making his routine journey home from a grocery store. Known to his friends and family as a gentle and generous man who would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need, Steven had taken a bus from the Aldi market near Meyer Boulevard and Troost Avenue. He exited the bus and began walking the final stretch toward his residence in the 1100 block of East 67th Street.
As he walked, he was unaware that he was being followed. Just moments before he reached the safety of his home, a gunman approached him from behind and shot him in the back of the head. Steven did not see the attack coming and was left gravely wounded on the sidewalk. He was transported to a hospital where he remained on life support for two days before succumbing to his injuries on August 15, 2017.
The investigation into Steven's death became the key to solving a string of homicides that had plagued the South Kansas City area. Detectives recovered surveillance footage from the bus and the street which showed a man trailing Steven after he disembarked. The footage captured the suspect drinking from a bottle of iced tea and smoking a cigarette as he stalked his victim. Investigators located these discarded items at the scene and processed them for DNA. The forensic evidence obtained from the bottle and the cigarette butt provided a match that not only identified a suspect but also linked him to the unsolved killing of another man, John Palmer, who had been found dead on a local trail a year prior.
Authorities arrested Fredrick Demond Scott, who was 22 years old at the time, in connection with the shooting. Following the DNA match, prosecutors charged Scott with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the death of Steven Gibbons. The arrest revealed a broader pattern of violence, as Scott was eventually accused of killing a total of six individuals, most of whom were shot without warning while walking on or near the Indian Creek and Blue River trail systems. The victims included Steven Gibbons, John Palmer, David Lenox, Timothy Rice, Mike Darby, and Karen Harmeyer. Steven’s death was pivotal in connecting these seemingly random acts of violence, as he was the only victim whose killing provided the surveillance and physical evidence necessary to identify Scott.
The legal proceedings against Fredrick Scott have been drawn out over several years due to repeated questions regarding his mental competency. Since his arrest in 2017, the case faced numerous delays as judges and medical professionals assessed his fitness to stand trial. At various points, he was ruled incompetent and committed to the Department of Mental Health for treatment, only to be later re-evaluated. In July 2025, a judge issued a ruling deeming Scott mentally fit to proceed with his defense. As of the most recent updates, a trial date has been scheduled for September 2026, nearly a decade after the crime occurred. Scott remains in custody facing six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of armed criminal action.
