Man charged in murder of 24-year-old found in breezeway outside south KC apartment

A 39-year-old man has been charged in the murder of a woman who police found on the ground in May near the Canyon Creek Apartments and Townhomes in south Kansas City.

Maurice Jacques, 39, was charged June 16 with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in Jackson County Circuit Court, according to Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.

The charges were sealed until Friday, Mansur said in a statement.

Just before 3 a.m. on May 22, police were called to investigate the sound of gunfire at the south Kansas City apartments in the 9500 block of Bales Drive. While en route, the call was updated to a shooting.

Police discovered a woman on the ground who had been shot in the back while in the breezeway of one of the Canyon Creek Apartments and Townhomes, according to court documents.

She was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and died a few hours later.

In police interviews, the mother of the victim, later identified as 24-year-old Nykolett Schroeder, said her daughter was homeless. Some family members used to live in the apartment complex, she said, but they had moved almost a year ago.

During the police investigation, officers found a bullet hole in the front apartment door directly across from the apartment of Maurice Jacques, court documents said.

Witnesses told police that Jacques had been involved in the shooting. They alleged Jacques believed Schroeder was attempting to break into his apartment before he shot her, court documents said.

Jacques gave police permission to search his apartment, where they located a spent shell casing and no damage to his front door. Authorities believe his door was open when firing the weapon, court documents said.

As of June 15, Jacques had yet to reach back out to detectives with an attorney and provide a statement.