Ending Intimate Partner Homicide: A Call for Reform of Kansas Protective Order Statutes

Debra was murdered in her Overland Park driveway on January 5, 2012. Her husband fired multiple bullets into her body after ambushing her outside of her home. Debra had a protection order against her husband, entered in November 2011. Passersby found Shaunda’s dead body under the playground equipment of a Kansas City park on June 14, 2014. Video of the park shows Shaunda fleeing from a man who caught up with her, grabbed her, and led her to the playground. The man is later shown leaving the park alone. A firearm and shell casings were recovered from the crime scene. Shaunda had a temporary protection order against the man. Her murderer, just days before, had smashed her face with a spiked bat and slashed all of her tires.