KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 17-year-old who claimed to be in a “lust relationship” with a Kansas City homicide victim is accused of stabbing her to death. Xzavier McDowell faces second-degree murder among other charges for allegedly killing Deandrea Vine.
Vine, 27, was a mother of four and found stabbed outside of her home in the 8500 block of East 92nd Street on July 28. Court documents say that at about 1 a.m., witnesses told police they heard screams and cries for help, and saw a black man around a white van parked at the home, one saying they saw him get a backpack out of the van and run to the backyard of the home. Police found Vine dead at about 4 a.m.
Additionally, an Uber driver told police he drove to pick up a man at Vine’s address at about the time the stabbing happened, but when he arrived he heard screams and saw a male running away. The driver was supposed to go to an address adjacent to McDowell’s home.
Investigators analyzed phone records and cross-referenced a bloody shoe print inside the van with surveillance video from the Wal-Mart where McDowell worked. McDowell was wearing shoes that matched the bloody print, and phone records showed he was the only person communicating with Vine before the stabbing.
Police arrested McDowell on Wednesday and he agreed to speak with investigators. He said he and Vine had been having sex for the past two months, and she recently told him she was pregnant and he was the father. After initially denying he was at her home, he later admitted they were having sex in her van, and afterwards she pulled out a knife and tried to stab him. He said he grabbed the knife and stabbed her in the neck and chest repeatedly, but she was able to escape the van.
He said he caught up to her and continued to stab her because he was “trying to make it happen faster”, and after Vine collapsed in her yard he stabbed her again because “she had to die.” He then ran through the backyard, hid the knife in some dirt, and went home. He said he burned the clothes he was wearing in his backyard.
Investigators did a luminol test and found blood in McDowell’s sink, bathtub, shower and bedroom. They also found ashes of his burned clothes in the backyard.
In addition to murder, McDowell faces armed criminal action and tampering with evidence charges. His bond is set at $250,000 cash, his next court date isn’t listed yet.
Vine is survived by children who are 7, 5, and 3 years old, as well as a 22-month-old.
