On January 29, 2017, police in Kansas City, Missouri, responded to an emergency medical call that led to the discovery of a deceased individual in the 6600 block of The Paseo. Upon arrival at the scene near 66th Street and The Paseo parkway, officers found the body of 49-year-old Elizabeth M. Brown, a Caucasian female who was widely known to her friends and community by the nickname 'Lizzie.'
The circumstances surrounding her death were immediately suspicious, leading authorities to classify the case as a homicide investigation.
Brown was originally a native of Farnham in the United Kingdom but had moved to the United States in the 1990s, eventually settling in Kansas City. In her former home of Farnham, she was remembered fondly as an animal lover who had established a pet-sitting business called 'Bizzie Lizzie,' driving a distinctive pink van. Her death came as a shock to friends on both sides of the Atlantic, who described her as a warm and fun-loving person. Following the discovery of her body, her friends arranged for her ashes to be returned to her hometown in England for a memorial service.
In the days following the discovery, investigators identified a person of interest they believed might have critical information regarding the homicide. The Kansas City Police Department publicly appealed for assistance in locating a man named William 'Bill' Simmons. Detectives released his photograph and asked anyone who knew his whereabouts to contact the TIPS Hotline, stating they wanted to question him specifically in connection with Brown's death. Despite this public plea for information on Simmons, no details regarding subsequent charges or convictions in the case have been widely publicized, and the investigation into the events that transpired on that January day remained a matter of police inquiry.
