Suspects in Kansas City robbery may be in area, police say

Authorities say the men believed to be responsible for a beating and robbery two years ago in Kansas City may be hiding in Southeast Missouri.

Kansas City Crime Stoppers has offered a $50,000 reward for information that could lead to a conviction in the cold case, according to Jerry Barham, the victim of the assault.

Barham, originally from the Bootheel, has lived in the Kansas City area and run his business, the Missouri Poster and Banner Co., for 30 years.

It was around 5 a.m. Christmas Eve 2006, Barham said, when two intruders broke into his home above his business while he and his female companion slept.

He said he remembers seeing the beam of flashlights cut through the darkness of his bedroom, and then heard one of the men address him by his first name, Barham said Friday.

"I didn't know if they were police, or fire, or what, then they said we're here after your money," Barham said.

During the better part of the next two hours, the two men beat Barham and his friend as they inquired about where valuables were kept in the building.

He lost consciousness several times.

"I didn't even know where I was at," he said.

He said his friend later told him they repeated the phrase "Jerry's going to die," several times during the beating.

The intruders managed to break into one safe and steal another, which they had to take with them because Barham was too incoherent from pain to recall the combination, he said.

Barham was hospitalized for more than two weeks, having suffered swelling of the brain, a broken nose and other injuries.

Several weeks later, all of the property that had been in the safe was left near Barham's building, he said.

A voicemail was left on the answering machine at the store apologizing for the crime, and the Crime Stoppers organization in Kansas City asks anyone recognizing the voice to call 816-474-8477. The voice message can be heard in a news report online at www.liveleak.com/view?i=ca7_1210561209.

The attack has been hard on Barham's family, he said. His 7-year-old grandson used to spend every other weekend with him, but since the assault, the child's mother has been too fearful to let him stay over, he said.

"I think it will help my family," Barham said of an arrest being made in the cold case.

Investigators now think the perpetrators may be in the Cape Girardeau or Sikeston area, Barham said.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to notify Kansas City Crime stoppers or the North Kansas City Police Department.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

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