Inset: Demario McGee (Jackson County Detention Center). Background: The residential street where McGee allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend in Kansas City, Mo. (Google Maps).
A tragic incident in Kansas City, Missouri, has led to the arrest of a man accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend, reportedly due to feelings of emasculation outside a recording studio. Law enforcement officials in the state have confirmed the arrest.
Demario McGee, aged 37, faces serious charges including second-degree murder, as well as two counts each of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. These charges were detailed in a recent press release from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
The fatal encounter unfolded over the weekend on East 62nd Street, tragically claiming the life of 32-year-old Katrice Williams. The Kansas City Police Department provided these details following their investigation of the scene.
Responding to reports of gunfire in the early hours of Sunday, officers discovered the victim in the backyard of the residence, near a gold Chevrolet Traverse. She had sustained gunshot wounds to her neck. Despite the efforts of paramedics, Williams was pronounced dead at approximately 3:18 a.m., as noted in a probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime.
McGee was also present at the scene and was reportedly behaving erratically when police encountered him, according to the details outlined in the probable cause statement.
Police also found McGee in the backyard and described him as “acting erratically,” according to the probable cause statement.
“Witnesses advised they were in the basement of [the residence] when they heard three sounds of shots,” the charging document reads. “When the witnesses approached the backyard, they observed McGee walk away from [redacted] towards the back (south) of the property. McGee was gone for a short amount of time and then later returned.”
The witnesses said the defendant sometimes carries a 9 mm handgun, police said. They allegedly went on to say he had come to the residence on the day in question in order to use the recording studio in the basement.
“Witnesses advised when they initially exited the residence after hearing the sounds of gunshots, McGee was calm,” the probable cause statement goes on. “When they later returned to the backyard, McGee was erratic and was yelling about how they shot his girl.”
But police say McGee was the one who shot Williams.
During a custodial interview after receiving his Miranda rights, the defendant told detectives he and his girlfriend went to the house to record music in the basement recording studio, according to the probable cause statement. The couple had been homeless as of late, McGee allegedly told law enforcement, and they were sleeping in the gold Traverse.
During the recording process, the defendant repeatedly left the residence and went out to visit his girlfriend — who had stayed in the car even as it grew late — and tried to convince her to come inside with him in the hope that the pair might be able to sleep in the house for the night, according to the charging document.
The woman apparently resisted the man’s efforts and eventually the couple “began to argue,” according to law enforcement.
“McGee felt emasculated because of how [Williams] was speaking to him,” the probable cause statement continues. “[Williams] told McGee she was going to leave, at which point McGee started shooting in the air to scare her using an FMK firearm. McGee stated as he was raising the gun to shoot into the air, the gun might have gone off. McGee stated that following the shooting, he ran two or three houses down (East) and threw the firearm.”
The occupants of the house offered a version of events that more or less aligns with what the defendant told police.
One woman said she “heard a male and female arguing followed by gunshots,” according to the probable cause statement. A man said “he heard arguing then gunshots,” and then “looked out his sliding door and saw a male in a light colored hoodie, possibly pink, running towards the back of the property.”
McGee is currently being detained in Jackson County Detention Center on a $250,000 cash-only bond, jail records show.
