Kansas City police are investigating house fire near Town Fork Creek Park as a homicide

A body found Friday night by firefighters in a house fire near Town Fork Creek Park in Kansas City is being investigated as a homicide, police say.

The Kansas City Fire Department responded just before 11:30 p.m. to a fire in the 5700 block of Bales Avenue in Kansas City’s North Town Fork Creek neighborhood east of Interstate 71.

Crews observed heavy smoke and fire showing from the front of the home. Crews quickly brought the fire under control, said Michael Hopkins, a spokesman with KCFD, in an email. During a search of the residence, firefighters found the body of a man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

After hearing from the medical examiner’s office, the death has been ruled as a homicide, according to Jake Becchina, spokesperson with the Kansas City Police Department. Police are still investigating the circumstances leading to the fire and man’s death. The cause of death was not released as of Sunday morning.

The killing is Kansas City’s 110th homicide of 2024, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. At this time last year, the city had recorded 140 homicides.