KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Police arrested the Kansas man accused of killing the sister of a girl whose kidnapping 17 years earlier set off a widespread manhunt before she was found dead in Missouri.
Kansas City police said Emenencio Lansdown was arrested Sunday morning after a five-hour standoff. Lansdown shot at officers several times before surrendering about 7 a.m, they said.
Prosecutors charged the 41-year-old with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm in the death of 34-year-old Casey Eaton of Kansas City. Lansdown has not yet made his initial court appearance.
Eaton’s sister, Pamela Butler, was 10 in October 1999 when she was kidnapped while roller-skating near her Kansas City home. The abductor, Keith Nelson, got away, and Butler’s body was later found in Grain Valley, Mo.
Nelson later was convicted in federal court and sentenced to death.
Family members and friends of Eaton and Butler gathered Saturday at a park in Kansas City to pray and release balloons in Eaton’s memory. About 100 people attended the event.
Eaton’s 18-year-old daughter, Angelica Eaton, said it’s difficult to deal with her mother’s death.
“It has just been kind of a shock to us,” said Angelica Eaton, but Saturday’s event was comforting. “It shows there are a lot of people who cared about her. Even people who didn’t even know her are showing up to show support.”