LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — A Kansas City-area father of four was shot and killed last month, found dead in his vehicle. His fiancée believes he was on the receiving end of senseless road rage.
Lea McKeighan Park in Lee’s Summit was Marvin Yancey’s favorite place to take his four daughters to play. Now they’re missing a big piece of their family.
Charles Miller Jr. is charged with second-degree murder in Yancey’s death.
Just before 1 a.m. July 16, Kansas City police were called to 83rd and Blue Ridge Boulevard on reports of gunfire in the area. Their search turned up empty — until about 10 hours later when police were called to the same area, about a block away, for an injury crash.
Officers found Yancey slumped over, shot to death. His white Chevy Tahoe was smashed into a tree in a yard.
Marina Wilson, Yancey’s fiancée, said he was their everything.
“It was just very devastating and couldn’t believe it actually happened to us because we don’t do anything but raise our kids. That’s all we do,” she said.
And although he was a great girl dad, Wilson said he couldn’t wait to meet the baby boy they were expecting, Marvin Jr.
“I’m so hurt that he didn’t even get to hold his son,” she said.
According to court documents, traffic cameras showed Yancey’s Tahoe and a silver sedan at the same intersection just minutes before neighbors reported hearing gunfire.
Surveillance footage led investigators to that silver car, abandoned. Inside they found an AR-style rifle that police believe Miller used to kill Yancey. Tests confirmed it was the same rifle used in the shooting.
Detectives talked to a witness who said she was in the car with Miller that morning. She told investigators they had been drinking, court records say.
“When you’re taking a life, you’re hurting a lot of people, hurting a lot of loved ones,” Wilson said.
Police said Miller is behind bars with a court appearance scheduled next week.
In the meantime, Yancey’s family is trying to heal. They’ve set up a GoFundMe page to help support their family.