KANSAS CITY(AP) — A second person has been charged in the killing of an Independence, Missouri woman whose body was found in a duffle bag last year north of Kansas City in rural Buchanan County.
Marcus Brooks, who was arrested in February, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Ariel Starcher. Prosecutors have also charged Taylor Stoughton, 22, with second-degree murder in the case.
A Missouri Transportation Department worker found the bag with Starcher’s body inside it on Feb. 18, 2020 alongside a road in Faucett, about 45 miles north of Kansas City. Stoughton told investigators that she and Brooks strangled Starcher on Feb. 5, 2020, at a Kansas City hotel, according to an arrest affidavit.
Brooks is being held without bond. Online court records don't list an attorney who could comment for him.