Wife of Kansas City man shot in his bed accused of first-degree murder: court records

A Kansas City woman is accused of premeditated murder in the shooting death of her 50-year-old husband, whose body was found by their two young children early Wednesday morning after they were alerted to the sound of gunfire.

Melanie M. Biggins, 40, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of Etienne McEwan, her husband of nearly nine years, documents filed in Jackson County Circuit Court show. Biggins was taken into police custody Wednesday from their home in Kansas City’s Parkview neighborhood after McEwan was found dead in the couple’s bedroom.

According to court records, Kansas City police responded to a report of a shooting around 1 a.m. at a residence in the 1700 block of Gillespie Place. They were waved down by two young girls, ages 10 and 11, who were standing outside the home when officers first arrived on scene.

Officers entered a bedroom to find Biggins performing CPR on McEwan, according to court papers. Paramedics declared him dead shortly afterward.

During her initial statement to police, authorities say Biggins reported being awoken by the sound of gunfire and finding her husband wounded. She also said she went downstairs to find the front door open, and did not know how he had been shot.

In charging papers, a Kansas City detective wrote that the death was quickly determined not to be a suicide. The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office found preliminarily that McEwan was killed by a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. Investigators also reported finding no signs of forced entry to the home.

Evidence examined by investigators included a damaged pillow with a projectile found in the stuffing and a blanket with gunpowder burns. In a hallway closet, on the top shelf, was an empty gun case for a Charter Arms .38 Special. A .38 caliber revolver, believed by authorities to have come from the gun case, was found underneath a bunk bed in the next room with one spent cartridge inside.

Homicide detectives interviewed the two children at police headquarters. Both described being awake in their respective bedrooms when they were startled by a loud sound, saying they each went into the hallway to see what happened.

The two girls said they walked downstairs to find Biggins, their mother, sitting on the couch. The 11-year-old said Biggins appeared as if she “had seen a ghost,” according to court records.

They joined her on the couch for a short time before walking back upstairs toward their parents’ bedroom as Biggins followed behind them, the girls told police. In the room, the 10-year-old turned on a lamp to see McEwan, the girls’ father, bleeding on the bed, and she ran to her room to call 911.

After getting a hold of 911 dispatchers, the girl handed the phone to Biggins, who was instructed to start CPR. The younger girl told detectives she heard the sound of gurgling blood, and the two girls went downstairs to await police.

Once they reached the front door, the 11-year-old told detectives, the deadbolt was undone but the handle was locked — which she described as “weird,” according to court records.

During an interview at police headquarters, Biggins allegedly said there was only one gun in the house that she was aware of: her husband’s rifle. She later admitted that she had purchased a .38 revolver from an Independence pawn shop six weeks prior, a detail backed up by firearm transaction records, authorities allege.

Authorities also allege Biggins described marital problems with McEwan, saying she had been in a yearlong intimate relationship with another man but could not financially afford to divorce her husband. The two were married in December 2013, Jackson County records show.

Detectives noted in charging papers that Biggins appeared to have no criminal history.

Court records did not list an attorney who could speak on Biggins’ behalf as of Thursday. She was being held in the Jackson County jail on a $50,000 bond.

Under Missouri law, Biggins faces a penalty of death or life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree murder.