In the spring of 1977, the life of a 17-year-old female named Stacie L. Swofford was tragically cut short in Kansas City, Missouri. Her body was discovered on April 17, 1977, in a vacant lot near 45th Street and Euclid Avenue. An autopsy later determined that the cause of her death was strangulation. At the time of her death, Stacie had been estranged from her family for several months and was living on the streets.
For many years, the murder of Stacie Swofford remained unsolved, one of
many cold cases that haunted the Kansas City area. The investigation into her death, and the deaths of other young women, saw a major breakthrough decades later with the advent of DNA technology. In the early 2000s, cold case detectives were able to link a string of unsolved homicides to one individual.
The suspect was identified as Lorenzo Gilyard, who would come to be known as the 'Kansas City Strangler.' Gilyard, a man with a prior criminal record, was found to have preyed on vulnerable young women, including prostitutes, over a period spanning from 1977 to 1993. Stacie Swofford was his first known victim.
In April 2004, Lorenzo Gilyard was arrested. Through DNA evidence, he was definitively linked to the murders of Stacie Swofford and twelve other victims. To avoid the death penalty, Gilyard accepted a plea bargain. In 2007, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, finally bringing a measure of justice for the families of his many victims, including the family of Stacie Swoffard.
