KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A husband and father is pleading for help after leads in his wife’s senseless murder dry up.
“It’s almost been a year,” Shaun Burkhart said. “I just don’t want it to turn into a cold case and her not to get justice.”
Back in January, Jaclyn Burkhart died in a drive-by shooting that her husband believes was an act of road rage. He opened up to FOX4’s Sherae Honeycutt hoping to find the men responsible in a story you will only see here.
Heartbreak is now Burkhart’s daily reality.
“I lost my life,” Burkhart said.
Back on January 22, around 4:30 p.m., he took his wife, Jaclyn, and their two daughters out for dinner. Burkhart stopped at the intersection of 39th and Jackson streets to tell one of his daughters to put on her seatbelt.
“I put the car in park at the stop sign,” Burkhart said. “Turned around to yell at her to tell her to get in her seatbelt for the fifth time. When I went to put the car in drive there was a silver Impala beside us.”
Burkhart says five men were in the 2008 Chevy Impala with tinted windows, and factory issued rims.
“I told them I was moving, and the next thing I know they were shooting into the car,” Burkhart said.
It was a barrage of bullets, but they only struck Jaclyn. Burkhart believes they shot because he was blocking the street, and maybe they thought he was doing it on purpose.
“Bullets flying, glass flying, and I felt the pressure and the air from the bullets,” Burkhart said. “As soon as I heard the first gunshot, I yelled at everybody to get down. I smashed on the gas to try to get away, and she never moved. Jaclyn never moved.”
She died almost a week later in the hospital, and was laid to rest on her 33rd birthday.
“This girl hated guns. Hated them, and a gun took her life,” Burkhart said. “It still blows my mind every morning. Every night. I think about it 24/7. It don’t ever leave my mind.”
Back when the incident happened KCPD asked the public for tips, and in March they brought out the FBI to put together a sketch based on Burkhart’s memory.
“I know his face. I know his voice. No leads. None. Not one,” Burkhart said. “I promised her on that hospital bed that I’d find them. They would be captured. It was a hard promise, but me and these girls need some closure.”
Burkhart is hoping someone who remembers that day, or knows something, can bring her killers to justice.
“This guy don’t deserve to be on the streets, and could do this to another family,” Burkhart said.
In case you remember something about this case, here are some important details:
- The shooting happened on January 22, around 4:30 p.m. in KCMO.
- The couple’s car was stopped at the intersection of 39th and Jackson Streets.
- Police say the car the shooter was in was a 2008 Chevy Impala with tinted windows, and factory issued rims.
Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-8477. There is a $10,000 reward leading to a conviction from Crime Stoppers, and you can remain anonymous.