For Immediate Release

September 29, 2025

Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson today announced charges against a Kansas City woman for allegedly striking a man to death and then setting the house on fire earlier this month in Kansas City’s northeast neighborhood. 

Dianna A. Brown faces 2nd Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action, 2nd Degree Arson, and Tampering with Physical Evidence in a Felony Prosecution. *

According to court records, the Kansas City Fire Department was dispatched to an apartment building near Kensington Avenue and Independence Avenue on Sept. 19 on a reported fire. After extinguishing the fire, which was contained to only one portion of the building, firefighters located a deceased male with severe burns, apparent head trauma, and signs of decomposition. 

Detectives responded to the scene and found mail and prescription medication belonging to the defendant at the location. 

The Medical Examiner determined the victim’s cause of death as blunt force trauma of the head and the manner of death as homicide. 

On Sept. 27, the defendant interviewed the defendant. She said that on Sept. 14, she was with the victim at his apartment when an argument began. After the argument stopped and the victim went to sleep, the defendant told detectives she used a nearby hammer to strike the victim multiple times. She said she continued to live in the apartment until setting it on fire. 

The defendant is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond. 

*Charges are only accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or pleads guilty.

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Media Contact: 

Jazzlyn Johnson

Director of Communications 

Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office 

415 E 12th Street

Kansas City, MO - 64106

(816) 929-1289 

jazzlyn.johnson@jacksongov.org 

https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com