On April 17, 1987, the body of 36-year-old Ann Barnes, a Caucasian female, was found by a pedestrian near 13th Street and Lydia Avenue in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. An autopsy later determined that she had been strangled to death. At the time of her death, Barnes was working as a housekeeper at St. Mary's Hospital and also as an exotic dancer.
For nearly two decades, the murder of Ann Barnes remained a cold case, one of a series of similar homicides in the Kansas City area between
1977 and 1993 where the victims were women, many of whom were involved in sex work and had been strangled. The cases remained unsolved for many years, leaving a trail of questions and fear in the community.
A significant breakthrough in the investigation came in 2004 with advancements in DNA technology. A blood sample that had been voluntarily provided by Lorenzo Gilyard in 1987 during the investigation into another murder was re-examined. This new analysis linked Gilyard to the murders of multiple women, including Ann Barnes. Gilyard had a prior criminal record, which included a conviction for child molestation.
In April 2004, Lorenzo Gilyard was arrested and subsequently charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder. In 2007, he was convicted for the murders of six women, one of whom was Ann Barnes. Gilyard was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, finally bringing a measure of justice to the family of Ann Barnes and the other victims after many years of uncertainty.
