Minor charged as adult in connection to deadly shooting of 11yearold girl
Oct 29, 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A minor is being charged as an adult and facing multiple felonies, including second-degree murder, in Jackson County after investigators say he shot and killed an 11-year-old girl in April 2024, county prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said.
According to the prosecutor's office, Re'mori T. Roath is facing one count of second-degree murder, one count of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action for the shooting death of Kourtney Freeman.
"I have no reaction," Samantha Freeman, Kourtney's mother, said in an interview with reporters Tuesday afternoon when asked about Roath being charged as an adult. "I'm confused, lost, hurt. I don't know."
Photo of Kourtney Freeman, courtesy of Ewing Marion Kauffman School
Charges filed on boy allegedly involved in Kourtney Freeman’s death
Court records said that on April 10, officers with the Kansas City Police Department were dispatched to the area of 33rd Street and Flora Avenue on reports of a shooting.
Upon arrival, officers found Freeman suffering from gunshot wounds inside a home. Shortly after, she was pronounced dead at the scene due to her injuries.
According to court records, six other people were inside the home at the time of the shooting, but nobody was injured.
One of the residents told police, however, that she had been talking to an unknown person through social media about a marijuana deal, and shortly before the shooting, the dealer told her he had arrived at the home. That is when the resident told police that shots were fired through the front door, hitting the 11-year-old girl.
Samantha, Kourtney's mother, has an older daughter and son. She talked to reporters for the second time since the murder happened in April. On Tuesday, she told reporters there were other people in the house the night of April 10. She believes those people, who she did not name, were the ones selling the drugs. She added that she didn't know they were planning to sell someone marijuana.
"I just wish they would have stayed away. They knew what they had going on, like why bring that kind of stuff to somebody, and we're not even related to them or anything, so we're just caught in the middle of somebody's… whatever they've got going on, but they need to pay too."
Samantha says she sleeps in Kourtney's bed and wears her clothes. She has all of Kourtney's bears in bed with her pictures on them as if Kourtney's still sleeping with her.
"I talk to her every day. I tell her, 'I'm sorry,'" she said.
Samantha relived some of April 10th Tuesday afternoon. She adds that talking about it really doesn't make her feel any better. Regardless, she spoke to reporters for about 15 minutes.
"She was supposed to get ice cream, I mean a milk shake and fries that day," she continued, talking about Kourtney's plans. "So, me and her sister, we make sure we go get fries and a McShake on the 10th of every month."
Samantha makes sure she goes to all her daughter's favorite places now that Kourtney, who'd now be 12, is gone.
Samantha spoke to reporters inside the Mohart Center Tuesday, just two blocks north of where Samantha currently lives. That's where KC Mothers in Charge has its offices. Samantha's been helped by the group's founder, Rosilyn Temple, since Kourtney was killed.
"We have to have them be accountable for their actions in our community especially when you take a life," Temple said in an interview with reports Tuesday too. "You know with Kourtney's life, she was a young child. She was 11 years old."
Temple said she was excited when she found out Roath was being charged as an adult but added that it's not going to bring Kourtney back. At the Board of Police Commissioner's meeting Tuesday, Mayor Quinton Lucas said he was heartened to see the adult charges part of the court process occurring.
"That being said, I won't speak to any particular judicial process other than certainly I trust the investigation and the investigators who are part of it," Mayor Lucas said to reporters. "We look forward to justice being served long term."
Court records said that detectives were able to find the suspect using video surveillance footage. The video showed a car driving from the scene, allowing police to track the license plate number. The plates traced back to Roath.
According to police, Roath's home was searched and a firearm was found matching the same shell casings at the crime scene. Detectives also found Roath's DNA on the trigger.
Juvenile in custody in connection to 11-year-old Kansas City girl’s shooting death
Roath is being held in a Jackson County jail on a $250,000 bond. Earlier this week, a Family Court judge found him able to stand trial as an adult.
The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office said, "Charges are only accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or pleads guilty."