KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man has now been charged in the death of a teenage girl who was reported missing and found dead a day later from a gunshot.

Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced Wednesday that Eric R. Phillips II has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandoning a corpse, following the girl’s November 2025 death.

Elayjah Murray had been reported missing on Nov. 28, 2025. As investigators looked into her disappearance, the Independence Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit learned that she’d possibly been shot.

Multiple witnesses and surveillance footage helped detectives identify Phillips as the shooter. Court documents say he shot Murray multiple times while she was in the back of his car during the early morning hours of Nov. 28.

A day later, police with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department found Murray in Kansas City. Phillips’ cell phone pinged in the area where Murray’s body was located.

Phillips’ bond has been set at $350,000 cash only.

Johnson said Phillips was charged on Dec. 3, 2025, under seal. The case was unsealed Wednesday in an effort to help locate Phillips.

Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Kansas House Democrats on Tuesday discussed separate bills to legalize recreational and medical marijuana use, citing a recent Kansas Speaks survey showing 70% of Kansans support medical legalization and 60% support recreational use.

Supporters say the legislation would generate revenue for affordable housing, childcare and property tax relief. Opponents say legalization would worsen the state’s mental health crisis and increase crime.

What supporters say

Rep. Ford Carr, D-Wichita, said the bills would direct significant revenue back to residents.

“In this legislation, we’re gonna take those funds — which could be, you know, we’re talking about $1 billion and we’re gonna give that back to the people,” Carr said.

Rep. Heather Meyer, D-Overland Park, said Kansans are already crossing state lines to access cannabis.

“I live right on the Kansas-Missouri border. The closest dispensary is 12 minutes away[…]We’ve got cannabis on the other side of the state line. You’ve got minivans with JoCo tags on them, Wyandotte tags on them,” Meyer said.

Rep. John Alcala, D-Topeka, said constituents have long pressed him on the issue.

“I used to receive tons of emails from parents whose children needed medical cannabis for seizures. I still receive an overwhelming amount of emails from our veterans suffering from PTSD,” Alcala said.

What opponents say

Katie Patterson, a representative for Stand Up for Kansas who spent more than 18 years with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, said she opposes the bills and that crime has increased in states where marijuana has been legalized in some form.

“I’ve seen firsthand how substance use, abuse and addiction impact lives, families, communities and create strains on criminal justice systems,” Patterson said.

Patterson said the FDA should serve as the standard for what qualifies as medicine.

“Medicines should be based on clinical data and robust amounts of research demonstrating medical efficacy for treatment of certain conditions,” Patterson said.

She also said increased access leads to increased use and warned of consequences for the state’s mental health system.

“We in this state have a mental health crisis. This is a policy conversation that would further exacerbate that crisis that we currently have on our hands with treatment in Kansas,” Patterson said.

What happens next

The bills were referred to the House Federal and State Affairs Committee. No hearing has been scheduled. Supporters said they do not expect the bills to advance this session but said they intend to continue raising the issue.

Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.

Houston basketball got a taste of why Allen Fieldhouse is one of the hardest places to win in the entire country, suffering a blowout 69-56 loss on Monday night.

This is the first time since 2017 that the Cougars have lost three straight games, and there are a lot of question marks with this team going forward.

Next up, Houston will look to get back on track this Saturday at 11 a.m., where the Cougars will face the Colorado Buffaloes inside the Fertitta Center.

Houston vs Kansas Game Recap

Things were rolling early on for the Cougars as they jumped out to a seven-point lead, but that didn’t last long as Kansas jumped back out in from at halftime, leading 31-27.

The second half was the same story for Houston, as the team went over five minutes without a made shot, and they had no rhythm on offense.

The Cougars have lost the two previous game because of these long offensive droughts, and tonight was no different.

Kansas jumped out to a 20 point lead while Houston couldn’t score a bucket, which is the Cougars largest deficit of the entire season.

The Jayhawks’ senior guard Tre White was the difference in this game, and his 23 points was enough to lead his team to a commanding victory over Houston.

Freshman guard Kingston Flemings was the only bright spot for the starters, and he ended the game with 16 points.

He has also become Houston’s all-time freshman scoring leader, showing how much of an impact he has on this team.

Sophomore guard Mercy Miller showed promising signs as he made an impact off the bench by finishing with nine points and five rebounds.

The key for the Cougars in these big games is for their veteran leaders need to step up and take over the game, and that did not happen.

Senior guard Emanuel Sharp continued his shooting struggles with a 1-for-10 shooting performance, which cannot happen for Houston to be successful.

Senior guard Milos Uzan also didn’t have much of an impact as he finished with just seven points on 3-for-7 shooting.

Junior forward Joseph Tugler is the next veteran that can really make an impact, and he just did not influence the game on defense like he normally does.

Overall, Houston is now on a three game losing streak, and the weaknesses on both sides of the ball are clear.

For the Cougars to be able to compete for a National Title again this season, they need to get back to playing Houston’s hard nose style of defense, and they need to eliminate the offensive scoring droughts.