In the quiet suburban landscape of Overland Park, Kansas, the evening of June 30, 2015, was shattered by violence that claimed the life of 19-year-old Trevon D. Anderson, a Black male from Kansas City, Kansas. Just before 10 p.m., reports of an armed disturbance sent police to the area of 61st Terrace and Robinson Street. There, they found Anderson in the street with critical injuries.
He was rushed to a hospital, where he ultimately succumbed to his wounds.
The investigation into Anderson's death quickly revealed it was part of a double homicide. Inside a nearby home on West 61st Terrace, officers discovered the body of 18-year-old Velik L. Henderson. Police officials believed the killings were not a random act of violence, suggesting a confrontation had occurred and that there was a connection between the victims and their assailant. The area, typically a peaceful neighborhood just south of Shawnee Mission North High School, became the center of an extensive investigation as detectives worked to piece together the events of that fatal night.
As the investigation progressed, further details emerged about the circumstances of the deadly encounter. Court documents later alleged that another individual, Marquise D. Stokes, had aided and abetted Anderson in an attempted robbery of Henderson. During this attempted robbery, both Henderson and Anderson were shot. This sequence of events culminated in the tragic deaths of both teenagers. In November 2017, Marquise D. Stokes pleaded no contest to a charge of second-degree murder in the killing of Velik Henderson and was subsequently found guilty.
