Mother loses second daughter to murder nearly 20 years after 10-year-old child kidnapped and killed

Mother Cherry West lost two daughters to murder 20 years apart: Fox4News
Mother Cherry West lost two daughters to murder 20 years apart: Fox4News

A mother is grieving the loss of her daughter who was shot and killed in her car nearly 20 years after her 10-year-old girl was kidnapped from outside her Kansas home.

Casey Eaton, 34, of Kansas City, was shot and killed in her car on Wednesday. She was found by police at around 11pm following reports of shots being fired, KSHB reported.

Kansas City police issued a public appeal for information on the suspected killer, Emenencio C Lansdown, who was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm in relation to Ms Eaton’s death.

He was arrested by police on Sunday morning following a five-hour standoff in which he fired at officers several times, WIBW reports.

Ms Eaton was the older sister of Pamela Butler, who was kidnapped and murdered at the age of 10 in 1999.

Ms Eaton, who was 16 at the time, saw her sister being grabbed from the street near their family’s house and pulled into the cab of a truck. She screamed and gave chase but Pamela was later found beaten and strangled to death in nearby Missouri.

“I can’t believe this has happened to me again,” mother Cherry West said. “You kind of sit back and you wonder what have you done in life for something like this to be done to you,” she told Fox4News.

Ms Eaton’s daughter has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to pay for the funeral. It has raised more than $4,500 (£3,530) in four days.

“My mother was murdered last night,” the page reads. “She was murdered after she got off work in front of the house that she was staying at. My family needs help to pay for her funeral expenses. She left behind two sons and two daughters, a grandbaby, a mother, a father, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We appreciate anything that you can help with.”

“I am just totally lost. It truly has to be a nightmare,” Ms West told KBMC. She said she hopes her daughters “wrap your arms around each other and fly high”.