Woman allegedly shot dead while visiting boyfriend in hospital. He tells police ‘cameras say it all’
Jessica Cyrus, James Lawson
Credit: Facebook; Jackson County Sheriff’s Office© Facebook; Jackson County Sheriff’s Office
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A Missouri man is accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend from his wheelchair while she was sitting with him in his hospital room.
James F. Lawson, 39, of Kansas City, was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 22, and charged with second-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and armed criminal action in the death of Jessica Cyrus, 41, according to online court records.
At 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 22, police were called to Room 418 at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, where Cyrus was visiting Lawson, according to a probable cause statement.
Officers found Cyrus on the bed, where medical staff had placed her, after she suffered a gunshot wound to her top right breast.
Shortly after the shooting, Lawson was seen leaving the hospital in his wheelchair and was located at a nearby strip mall, police allege in the probable cause statement.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Lawson told detectives that he couldn’t remember what happened, claiming he was delirious because of a severe urinary tract infection, the probable cause statement said.
Asked about injuries the medical examiner might find on Cyrus, Lawson said she had once injured her leg but could not explain any recent injuries, it alleges.
Questioned further, he said, “Maybe if you guys got cameras you seen…you seen what happened. I mean, cameras say it all.”
Lawson was taken to the Independence Justice Center, where investigators searched his wheelchair and found a box of 9mm ammunition, a loose 9mm round and a holster on his person with no gun in it, the probable cause statement alleges.
Claiming his memory of the incident was “fuzzy” because of his medical condition and because of medication that had been given via an IV, he said he remembered traveling around the hospital in his motorized wheelchair, but could not explain why he went in and out of his hospital room or why he went to the nearby shopping center, per the statement.
Lawson told investigators that Cyrus was his girlfriend and that she had accompanied him to the medical center where he was receiving treatment.
He said a firearm had been inside the van they drove to the hospital, but did not remember where it was.
He also said he was a convicted felon who was prohibited from possessing firearms, and added the ammunition found under the wheelchair had been there for a while and said he bought it for resale.
He then asked for an attorney, telling detectives that he remembered a gun “being stuck near a curb behind a building” but didn’t know where the building was, the probable cause statement alleges.
Hospital surveillance footage detectives obtained gave them more information about what allegedly happened, the statement alleges.
Just after 1:37 p.m., Lawson entered the hospital room in his wheelchair. Five seconds later, Lawson, who was still in his wheelchair, was seen facing Cyrus, who “appeared to be struggling to breathe and began to bend forward” in the reclining chair she was sitting in, the probable cause statement alleges.
At the same time, Lawson was “frantically messing with the right side of his pants and hip area” and had a dark object in his right hand, it alleges.
A nurse who was in a nearby room said she heard a loud noise but didn’t know where it came from. During the night she said she looked into Lawson’s room and saw Cyrus lying on her side and thought she was asleep, the statement alleges.
She said she didn’t see any sign of injuries or bleeding and that she didn’t observe any suspicious or unusual behavior between Cyrus and Lawson, it states.
According to Cyrus’s obituary, “She was a true inspiration of what family really means, going above and beyond no matter the hardship that follows. In every way, she was the string that tied us all together. We were very blessed to have been her family. Every inch of our home has her touch stamped on it.”
Lawson remains held on a $250,000 cash bond while he awaits his next court date.
It was not immediately clear if Lawson is being represented by an attorney.
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