On the early morning of January 1, 2016, 23-year-old male Sederick Jones was fatally shot in Kansas City, Missouri, in the city's first homicide of the new year. The incident took place around 2:49 a.m. in a parking lot located in the 5200 block of East 112th Terrace, just outside an event hall where a New Year's Eve party had been held. Jones had arrived at the venue towards the end of the night to speak with his ex-girlfriend, who was attending the party with her friend, Destynie Wright.
The three individuals eventually left the building and spent roughly an hour in the parking lot as Jones attempted to convince his ex-girlfriend to leave with him.
During this time, Jones, his ex-girlfriend, and Wright were seated in Wright’s vehicle. While Jones reportedly possessed a handgun, witnesses and subsequent investigations indicated he did not threaten anyone with it during the interaction. As the conversation continued, Wright began sending text messages to her boyfriend, Ramon Boyd, urging him to come to the location immediately. One message from Wright read, 'come get him now!!!!!!' followed by confirmation that Boyd was arriving. Investigators later retrieved these communications, which Wright had attempted to delete from her phone, along with cell tower data placing Boyd in the vicinity at the time of the shooting.
When Boyd arrived at the scene, gunfire erupted. Jones was struck and died at the scene, where police found him lying on top of a weapon. His ex-girlfriend was also shot and critically wounded but survived her injuries after a month-long hospital stay. She later testified that she had not seen Jones with a gun while they were in the car and that she heard gunshots and breaking glass before realizing she had been hit. Wright fled the scene after the shooting but was later linked to the crime through the recovered text messages and blood evidence found on the exterior of her vehicle.
Authorities charged both Destynie Wright and Ramon Boyd in connection with the death of Sederick Jones. In December 2017, a Jackson County judge sentenced 20-year-old Destynie Wright to 32 years in prison. A jury had convicted her of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of armed criminal action. Her sentence consisted of four consecutive seven-year terms and one four-year term. Ramon Boyd faced trial later and was convicted by a Jackson County jury in April 2018. He was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, leaving the scene of a shooting, and two counts of armed criminal action for his role as the shooter in the fatal encounter.
