Kansas City, Mo. Woman Fatally Shoots Teen Brother’s Suspected Killer; Sent Text To Dead Brother’s Phone Saying She Avenged Him

A Kansas City, Mo. woman, tracked down her brother’s suspected killer and murdered him. She then texted her brother’s phone and told him that she avenged his death. 

On Jan. 10, Jason Ugwuh, 16, was shot and killed near Paloma Avenue and Topping Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. KCTV 5 reports that the young teen was an exemplary Hogan Preparatory Academy student who played basketball for the school’s team. 

Heartbroken and in pain, his sister, 21-year-old Tityana Coppage, took it upon herself to avenge her brother’s death. Her brother’s death comes a few years after her youngest brother and cousin – Jayden Ugwuh and Montell Ross – were fatally shot while sleeping in their home at 57th Street and College Avenue, KCTV 5 reports. The boys were 8 and 9. 

Coppage shot her brother’s suspected killer on Jan. 13 in a parking lot near Thompson Avenue and Benton Boulevard. After the shooting, the suspected killer’s brother drove him a short distance and then stopped in the middle of the street to ask for help. Paramedics tried to revive him, but he’d already passed away. He was shot in the chest and leg, KCTV 5 reports. 

Police were able to use evidence from witnesses and surveillance footage to identify the individuals driving a black Ford Escape allegedly used to perform the crime. According to police reports, Coppage admitted to calling the suspected killer before the shooting. Coppage explained that she only called to see if she could help resolve her father and the man’s issues between one another, adding that she wanted to stop the possibility of them killing each other. 

Coppage says she did get into a shootout with the victim but said it was only in self-defense. The woman says the man shot at her car before she returned fire, according to a narrative written by police in a probable cause affidavit. Investigators found texts in Coppage’s cell phone that she sent to “Auntie,” asking for .45-caliber bullets and saying, “LOL, I sued too many on bro.” Another text was sent to her passed brother’s phone; it read, “Sent a [expletive] to my brother I owe em that body,” according to the affidavit.