A Kansas City police officer who killed an unarmed Black man in 2020, with a record of other violent arrests of Black civilians has been named in the killings of two other people.
Officer Blayne Newton is undergoing a routine investigation following the shooting deaths of Marcell T. Nelson and Kristen Fairchild, both 42, on June 9, 2023, in Kansas City.
According to Fox4 News, Newton shot Nelson and Fairchild while on patrol close to 31st Street and Van Brunt Boulevard at approximately 9 p.m. before calling for help. Responding officers found Nelson dead and Fairchild in need of medical assistance. She later died at the hospital. A third person, Nelson’s 20-year-old nephew, also was shot in the head but is expected to survive.
Reportedly, three people with knowledge of the investigation into the shootings identified Newton as the shooter.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol claimed that Newton saw a passenger who had been riding in a pickup truck get out of the truck and approach a minivan while holding a firearm before getting back into the truck and speeding off. MSHP claimed that Newton — who is identified as “the officer” — pulled up alongside the minivan, preventing his dashcam from recording the interaction.
Newton fired several shots into the driver’s side window of the minivan before it slowly rolled forward and hit a curb. Authorities believe that Fairchild was driving the minivan and also claimed that four firearms were found in the minivan.
They also alleged that shell casings found in the minivan suggest that someone fired from inside the vehicle. The investigation is reportedly ongoing. It’s unclear why Newton approached the minivan instead of following the pickup truck. Three people walked out of the vehicle after the officer ordered those inside to exit, while the driver and passenger were too injured to move.
Newton’s dashcam also failed to record him shooting and killing Donnie Sanders in March 2020. The dashcam did record him passing Sanders driving a Chevy Tahoe and making a U-turn to follow him near Prospect Avenue and 51st Street with his sirens activated.
Sanders pulled over in an alley and ran. Newton chased him and ordered him to stop before firing five shots, three of them hitting an unarmed Sanders. He died the following day in the hospital as the police revealed that he was unarmed and that they had found a cellphone in his pocket.
However, Jackson County prosecutors claimed that there was insufficient evidence against Newton to file criminal charges. Sanders’ family filed a $10 million federal civil lawsuit in Kansas City that is currently ongoing.
The disgraced KCPD officer also reportedly assaulted a nine-month-pregnant Black woman during a 2020 arrest. While arresting Deja Stalling, Newton put his knee into her back after slamming her to the ground on her belly, causing her to be hospitalized. He was also one of three officers who used a Taser on a teenager and repeatedly punched him in 2019, resulting in a $325,000 payout by KCPD.
Critics wonder why Newton is still employed by the KCPD. Suspicion also has been raised around why the authorities refused to name Newton as the officer involved in the June 9 killings.
“We have not named the officer, nor do we ever unless there are charges filed and the identification becomes a public record,” wrote KCPD spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina. “KCPD is fully cooperating with the Highway Patrol investigation.”
Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Andy Bell also refused to name Newton.
“We will not release the name of the officer involved while there is an ongoing investigation,” said Bell.
Steve Young is an organizer with the Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project, and he referred to Newton as a serial killer.
“Blayne Newton is a serial killer,” said Young. “There are officers who don’t discharge their weapons their entire careers. He’s now responsible for three deaths and two assaults that we know of.”
Eboney Allmon is Nelson’s sister and the mother of the 20-year-old third victim, who was shot by Newton in the head.
Allmon said that her brother had picked up her son after he’d gone swimming and that they were on their way to McDonald’s when Newton shot them. Allmon said that she hasn’t yet asked her son what happened during the shooting and wants to give him time to recover.
“I think that’s too much trauma for a 20-year-old Black male to process, and I don’t want him feeling like that’s all I care about because it’s not,” she said. “I’m blessed to have him here.”
Allmon also said Marcell T. Nelson was her best friend and the father of five. “He was my best friend,” said Allmon. “We talked and laughed about everything. We were those siblings that didn’t argue.”
The grieving sister wants justice for her family while noting police reform is needed in Kansas City. “Something has to give,” she said, “and killing is not the answer.”
