Investigators, relatives ask for tips to help solve Alesha Reade’s homicide

Published: Feb. 7, 2023 at 4:22 PM CST

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Shawnda Reade said she worried the minute she reached out to her sister Alesha and never heard back. Someone killed Alesha Reade two years ago this week.

An investigation into her homicide is ongoing.

Relatives said 45-year-old Alesha Reade was a mother of eight children at the time of her death. Her dismembered body was discovered in February 2021 in several locations near Cameron Road and Easley Road in Clay County, Missouri.

Investigators have developed several persons of interest in the case. They are asking Alesha’s circle of friends and anyone with information about her death to come forward.

“Alesha died that day, but they killed a huge part of our family,” Shawnda Reade said. “We need answers so we can start healing.”

She received a text message from Alesha before her death.

“She told me that she loved me and to always remember that she loved me,” Shawnda Reade said. “I’m like ‘oh my God did she know something was going to happen to her?’ because she wanted to make sure that I knew she loved me.”

Alesha was last seen at a Fav Trip gas station off E. 23rd Street in Independence around 8:40 p.m. on Feb. 9, 2021.

“We know she got into a vehicle with a citizen that night who ended up being a Good Samaritan to give her a ride,” Clay County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit Supervisor Sgt. Chris Johnson said. “We were able to track down that person and eliminate him from being a suspect in the case.”

Sgt. Johnson said surveillance video from the gas station recorded video of Alesha and her voice on that Feb. 9. “A lot of us investigators heard Alesha’s voice that night. We understand what she sounded like,” Sgt. Johnson said. “We knew she was in a lot of fear. Just the sound of her voice is a driving factor for us. We want to get justice for her.”

According to Sgt. Johnson, investigators also want to know more about what happened right before Alesha was seen at the gas station.

“We know some information that leads us to believe she was in danger before that,” Sgt. Johnson said.

Alesha’s mother passed away in November before she could see her daughter’s killer arrested and charged.

“That was my promise to her. Trying to figure this out. We can’t keep standing still like this. We’ve got to figure something out,” Alesha’s sister-in-law Melissa Reade said. “Alesha has many children that need closure. She has grandchildren. All we do is just try to keep each other going. Keep each other strong.”

Alesha’s family is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in her case in addition to a $2,000 reward offered by the KC Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline.

“We’re just that one tip away from getting the answers we need,” Shawnda Reade said.

Anyone with information about Alesha’s unsolved homicide can anonymously call the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers tips hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Crime Stoppers offers up to a $2,000 reward for any tip that leads to an arrest for any felony crime.

To view all our KC Unsolved stories, click here.

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Kansas City CrimeStoppers(KC Crimestoppers)