A convicted murderer was charged Tuesday in the death of one of six women whose bodies were found in a neighborhood frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes.
Terry A. Blair, 42, was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Sheliah McKinzie, 38. Prosecutors would not discuss the investigation in detail but said more charges were possible.
“The investigation of the other five homicides is ongoing,” prosecutor Mike Sanders said. Prosecutors said semen found on McKinzie was Blair’s, though he had told police he had never had any contact with her.
McKinzie’s body was discovered with another badly decomposed victim in a garage Sept. 2. The remains were among the six found on vacant lots or near vacant buildings in an 18-block area east of downtown. Three bodies had decomposed beyond recognition, and one of those still has not been identified.
Police have said they believe one person was responsible for the six deaths. Of the five victims who have been identified, all had faced drug charges and three had been convicted of prostitution or solicitation.
Blair, of Kansas City, was convicted of murdering ex-girlfriend Angela Monroe in 1982 and given a 24-year sentence but was twice paroled, according to records obtained by The Kansas City Star. He had confessed to beating her with a tree limb because he was angry that she was “working the streets as a prostitute,” according to court records.
Blair was arrested Friday on a parole violation. Police said then that Blair was one of many people authorities wanted to question about the homicides, but that he was not a suspect.