Tityana Coppage: Kansas woman shot dead brother's killer, texted deceased sibling she 'owed him a body'
A 21-year-old Kansas woman who tracked her brother's alleged killer and shot him dead has been charged. Tityana Coppage was charged with second-degree murder of Kieth Lars, a 36-year-old from Kansas, as per a KCTV report. The site reported that Coppage believed Lars was behind the murder of her brother, Jayson Ugwuh, 16, who was fatally shot in Kanas City on January 10. Coppage's brother was shot and killed near Paloma Avenue and Topping Avenue in Kansas City, MO. He was a junior at Hogan Preparatory Academy and was also a skilled basketball player.
Although the motive behind Jayson's murder is not known, WDAF reported that he along with two more teens was walking home from a BP gas station when he was fatally shot. Coppage shot Lars in a parking lot days after Jayson's murder on January 13. The victim at the time of the shooting was accompanied by his brother, who drove a short distance in their SUV to get help. According to the official documents, the SUV arrived in Admiral Boulevard and Virginia Avenue area, where the driver stopped the car and asked for help; witnesses tried to provide assistance, however, first responders declared Lars deceased.
Coppage was arrested after video footage from the violent shooting aided the police in tracking her.
Witnesses in the area say they saw fire opened inside an SUV, in which Lars was present. KHSB said twenty-three shell casings of two different sizes were found at the crime scene.
Coppage admitted to having called the victim before the shooting, but said she only did so in hopes of the man and her father settling their differences before they killed each other. Although she admitted to the shooting, Coppage claimed she did it in self-defense as he shot at her first. She told the police that Lars had pulled out a gun and shot a vehicle that had pulled up, she added she went to exit her vehicle, but Lars told her to stay where she was. Coppage then fired out of the passenger window and said he was caught in the crossfire.
A search of her phone reportedly produced texts in which Coppage had reached out to a contact named "Auntie" asking for .45-caliber bullets. Forensics revealed the gun Coppage used was indeed the same firearm used in Lars's shooting. In addition to these, Coppage allegedly said in a text to her murdered brother, “Sent a n***a to my brother I owe em that body.”
Tragedy had befallen the family even in 2016 when their younger brother and cousin - Jayden Ugwuh and Montell Ross, were also fatally shot and killed. An unknown person had shot into the house killing the boys who were eight and nine respectively. The case remains unsolved. "Jayden and Montell were kids -- they were kids. They weren’t doing nothing wrong,” said Montell’s mother, Aishah Coppage as per KSHB. “They were home, where we thought they were safe. I need the world and the city to know that they were kids and they don’t have a voice."
Coppage remains jailed on a $200,000 bond.