KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City, Missouri police officer James “Jim” Muhlbauer, who died Wednesday night in a two-vehicle crash, arrested one of the most notorious killers in the city’s recent history nine years ago.
Brandon Howell fatally beat two people, then shot and killed three others on Sept. 2, 2014, in the community of Woodbridge, a quiet suburban neighborhood in southern KCMO.
KSHB extension
Five people were killed on September 2, 2014 in the community of Woodbridge in southern Kansas City, Missouri. Brandon Howell was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murders.
Muhlbauer — who spent 20 years as a KCPD police officer, including the last three with the K-9 unit — spotted Howell walking southbound Interstate 29 later that day and made the arrest.
KCPD Police Chief Stacey Graves identified Muhlbauer as the officer who was killed while on patrol Wednesday near Truman Road and Benton Boulevard. Muhlbauer’s K-9 partner Champ and a pedestrian were also killed in the crash.
The driver of the other vehicle involved remains in custody while the KCPD investigates whether damage was a factor in the crash, which Graves said was not Muhlbauer’s fault based on the preliminary investigation.
Muhlbauer leaves behind a wife and son.
In September 2014, KCMO was reeling from Howell’s senseless killing spree as the manhunt for the suspected killer continued late into the evening.
That day, Muhlbauer — who spent 20 years as a patrol officer with KCPD, including the last three with the K-9 unit — was on patrol several miles away in North Kansas City when the dispatch received a tip that a passerby may have spotted the suspect, later identified as Howell, walking south along Interstate 29.
Dale Messing
Brandon Howell (in orange), convicted of murdering five neighbors in Kansas City, Missouri, will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. He received his sentence on Thursday, May 23 in the Jackson County District Court.
After Muhlbauer spotted Howell walking in the express lane, “cupping” his right pant leg as if he was keeping something hidden inside, he initiated a stop.
Howell refused to straighten his right leg when asked to kneel, which led Muhlbauer to discover a 12-gauge shotgun barrel and magazine tube in his pant leg.
Muhlbauer handcuffed Howell by the side of the road and later discovered two shell casings, which matched shell casings found in the driveway where two of the murders occurred.
The search also found shoes, a shirt, a jacket and a balaclava that contained DNA evidence from several of the murder victims, linking Howell to the quintuple murders.
A vehicle that Howell stole while fleeing the neighborhood where he killed five people was found about a mile from where Muhlbauer arrested him.
Inside was DNA evidence that further ties Howell, who was convicted of all five murders in April 2019 and sentenced to life in prison in May 2019, to the killing spree.
Howell bludgeoned George and Ann Taylor to death, while trying to steal an antique car from the elderly couple.
After stealing a different vehicle, he stopped and shot a neighbor, Susan Choucroun, outside her home and later shot and killed Darrel Hurst and his mother, Lorene Hurst, before driving away in the stolen vehicle.
KSHB extension
Five people were killed on September 2, 2014 in the community of Woodbridge in southern Kansas City, Missouri. Brandon Howell was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murders.
The Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 99, the union representing the KCPD, has set up a website for those wishing to donate to Muhlbauer’s family.
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