On the early morning of August 15, 2021, Skylar Needham, a 30-year-old White / Caucasian male from Kansas City, Kansas, was sitting in his vehicle at Matney Park. He was enjoying a quiet pastime, playing Pokémon Go, a hobby he loved. The peace of the morning was shattered when multiple gunshots, with some neighbors reporting as many as sixteen, rang out in the park located near Shawnee Drive and South 39th Street.
When police responded to the scene, they discovered Needham in his car, having succumbed to several gunshot wounds. He was a father to two young daughters, and his unexpected death left his family devastated.
The investigation into the seemingly random act of violence led authorities to suspect a group of individuals. Initially, five people, three men and two women between the ages of 19 and 22, were taken into custody in connection with the homicide. While three were later released as the investigation continued, authorities believed this group was responsible for a series of other violent crimes in both Kansas and Missouri. The investigation remained active, as both law enforcement and Needham's family were convinced that more than one person was responsible for the tragic killing.
After an eight-month-long search, a primary suspect was apprehended. David Lamont Young III, who was 24 at the time, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in Cleveland, Ohio, in late April 2022. He was initially charged with first-degree murder, though this was later amended. On July 15, 2022, Young pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other firearms charges. He was subsequently sentenced to 18 years in prison on August 30, 2022. Despite the conviction, authorities and Needham's family continued to express their belief that others were involved in the crime and that the investigation was not over until everyone responsible was brought to justice.
