In the winter of 2016, the life of 41-year-old Eric T. Anderson was tragically cut short in the parking lot of the Blue Bird Motel in Kansas City, Missouri. On the evening of December 6th, as Anderson was preparing to check into the motel located in the 8900 block of U.S. 40, he was fatally shot. The shooting occurred around 8:10 p.m., a time when the area was cloaked in the early darkness of a December night.
Prior to the discovery of Anderson's body, a motel employee reported being
robbed by a man wearing a black vest. This detail added another layer to the unfolding tragedy, suggesting a possible connection between the robbery and the homicide. The authorities were summoned to the scene, where they found Anderson, a resident of Kansas City, suffering from gunshot wounds. Despite the prompt response, his injuries proved to be fatal. The incident was one of 118 homicides recorded in Kansas City that year, a grim statistic that underscored the city's ongoing struggle with violent crime.
In the year following Anderson's death, as his family, including his daughters who had lost their mother to cancer just months prior, grappled with their immense loss, the Kansas City Police Department continued their investigation. In a public plea for assistance, they released a surveillance video from a KCATA bus. The video captured a person of interest who was believed to be familiar with the area around 31st Street and Indiana Avenue. In the footage, the man is seen wearing a black puffy vest over a patterned hoodie and can be heard speaking with the bus driver.
Authorities urged anyone with information to come forward, offering a reward of up to $5,000 for details that could lead to an arrest in the case. The reward was later increased to $10,000 as the search for answers continued. Despite these efforts and the circulation of the person of interest's description and video, the case of Eric T. Anderson's murder has remained unsolved. The passage of time has not yet brought the closure his family seeks, and the identity of the person or persons responsible for his death remains unknown to the public.
