On a summer evening in Kansas City, Missouri, the life of 28-year-old Kevin Smith was tragically cut short. On August 10, 2017, officers responded to the area of East 11th Street and Benton Boulevard shortly before 9 p.m. where they discovered Smith suffering from gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but tragically, he succumbed to his injuries.
At the time, authorities did not release any information about potential suspects or what may have led to the fatal shooting.
In the days following the shooting, Kevin Smith's mother, LaShonda Smith, made a heart-wrenching plea for answers. She described her son as a funny, kind, and talented individual with a beautiful singing voice. "My eldest son … was murdered and left on the street as his life slipped away in his own blood by someone who has NO REGARDS for human life,” she wrote. "My son didn't deserve to be treated like trash and left on the curbside to die alone, scared and grasping for every breath to live." Friends and family remembered him as a sweetheart who always made people laugh.
Over a year later, the case remained unsolved, with no arrests made and no suspects publicly identified. A homicide detective stated that the investigation was reliant on witnesses coming forward with information. LaShonda Smith-Renfro, Kevin's mother, continued to seek justice for her son, expressing her pain and the void his death left in their family. She described an argument her son may have had before the shooting, but no further details were released by law enforcement. The investigation into the death of Kevin Smith remains open, and his killer has not been brought to justice.
