MO MO - Laura Mason, 45, Kansas City, 24 March 1993

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Investigators may be close in finding the remains of Laura Mason, missing for over 22 years.

NamUs

Charley Project

Above: Mason, circa 1993

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: March 24, 1993 from Kansas City, Missouri
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Date Of Birth: March 20, 1948
• Age: 45 years old
• Height and Weight: 5'6, 140 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Mason wears a partial set of dentures. Her upper and lower molars have been extracted. Mason may use the alias Nadiyyah Muhammed. She may use the last names Marks and/or Brannock and she may spell her name "Larura."
• Clothing/Jewelry Description: A green and black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, a black coat, black shoes and an Anne Klein watch.

Details of Disappearance
Mason was last seen in Kansas City, Missouri on March 24, 1993. A relative dropped her off at the El Capitan Lounge in the vicinity of Paseo Boulevard and the 1600 block of east 18th Street at 10:30 p.m., so Mason could celebrate her recent birthday.

Mason was last seen entering the establishment's owner's vehicle outside the business. The owner, an acquaintance of Mason, told authorities that he dropped her off at the intersection of 18th Street and Highland Avenue shortly afterwards. He claimed that she planned to visit the Mutual Musicians' Foundation in the 1800 block of Highland Avenue during the evening. Mason has never been heard from again.

Investigators said that the owner's statements regarding Mason's disappearance have been inconsistent. Mason was employed as a nursing assistant at the time she went missing. She never picked up her last paycheck. Foul play is suspected in her case, which remains unsolved.


Tip of possible human remains in KC backyard connected to '93 missing woman

Police are digging up a backyard in South Kansas City after receiving a tip that possible human remains are there.

It's happening in the 9800 block of Hardesty Avenue, not far from the old Bannister Mall.

Kansas City, MO, police say they recently received a tip that the body of Laura Mason, who went missing March 24, 1993, might be buried there.

Police dig for remains of 1993 cold case victim in South Kansas City backyard

 

[tarabull]

Search for missing woman at south KC home ends with nothing found
August 20, 2015

Snipped...

...Police said a new tip led them to the house, one with enough credibility to get them to break up a concrete slabs in the back yard.

Read more: http://www.kmbc.com/news/laura-masons-daughters-hold-out-hope-for-answers-justice/34827120

[video at the link]

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

"Missing woman’s daughter feels ‘deflated’ after police find no human remains"

http://fox4kc.com/2015/08/21/missing-womans-daughter-feels-deflated-after-police-find-no-human-remains/

“I just felt deflated,” said Safiyyah Mills, Mason’s daughter. “And then it was just like, ‘What? So what? So what happened? You didn’t find anything?’”

Mills said she was familiar with the home police searched, as it once belonged to Richard Stallings, her mother’s former brother-in-law, and the last person who ever saw her.

“I’ve been to that house. I spent holidays at that house. So just the thought of thinking, if they find my mother in that backyard, oh my God, like, I don’t know how I’m going to feel about this.”

Laura E Mason Foundation

 

[PeriwinkleE]

Ms. Mills has spent so long waiting to hear what has become of her mom. I hope this investigation, while disappointing right now, will bring her the closure she has been hoping for.

 

[alb1on]

As the link in #3 above notes Richard Stallings is serving life for murdering another woman in 1995. The following link gives more details of that case and suggests that Stallings is an individual with a particular and aggressive attitude to women rather than the 1995 murder being an isolated event. This convinces me that he is a very probable killer of Mason.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/mo-court-of-appeals/1012628.html

 

[alb1on]

I have thought a bit more on Richard Stallings. It seems possible, if not probable, that a man who definitely murdered one woman (Donna Meredith in 1995 for which he was convicted) and most probably murdered Laura Mason two years earlier, may have murdered previously to the Mason murder in '93. This belief is reinforced by several other pieces of information (or possible information);

1. Stallings was in his 40s (or perhaps even early 50s) at the time of the two known murders. The link in #5 above seems to give his birthdate in 1949, but records on Ancestry suggest 1942 or 1943 (depending on record). Is it probable that a multiple killer would kill for the first time at such an age?

2. Given the absence of the Mason body, the killer was obviously sufficiently calm and knowledgeable to dispose of the body, suggesting past experience. Admittedly the management of the Meredith murder seems much more haphazard.

3. Ancestry has a Connecticut divorce record from 1970 for a Richard L Stallings, born in Kansas in March 1943. I suspect this is our man as the birth month in court records is March although the year differs. The interesting point is the divorce record cites grounds for divorce as 'conviction of crime'. If this is our man he obviously has a long criminal record.

4. The following link is to a case in Connecticut in 1966 involving Richard L Stallings being convicted of the murder of a 78 year old woman in 1964. This seems to be the case referred in the divorce record. The link makes reference to the Kansas City connection, reinforcing the birthplace of Kansas listed in the divorce record on Ancestry.
http://ct.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19661129_0042222.CT.htm/qx

Now it is possible that the Richard Stallings in Connecticut is a different one to the Kansas City Stallings, even though the former was born in Kansas City. It is also possible that the Stallings in the 1990 cases did develop violent tendencies later in life. However, if I am right that the Stallings from 1964/66 and the Stallings from the 1990s are the same man it does lead to the obvious questions; when was he released from state prison in Connecticut and where did he live and what did he do between then and 1993? And are there any unsolved murders (especially of women) coincident with his residence?

As balance I also offer the following link where Stallings gives his version of the Meredith case from his prison cell, on page 8;
http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_28/jd_issue_28.pdf

 

[alb1on]

My apologies. I have just realised that in my last post I wrote 'Kansas' when I meant 'Kansas City' in each case. Please read it as Kansas City.

 

[alb1on]

A bit more information on Richard Stallings.

The following link is to a local newspaper story on the 1964 murder in Connecticut. It confirms that the initial 'L' in Richard L Stallings stands for Lee. Can anyone confirm that the 'L' in the case of the Kansas City Stallings in the 1990's also stands for Lee? The story also gives much more background, including on Stallings' move from Kansas City to Connecticut in 1963 and his (pretty spectacular) criminal record in both Kansas City and in the year in Connecticut. It also confirms his age as 21, aligning with the Ancestry records of a birthdate in 1942/43.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AAIBAJ&sjid=P3IFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6119,579900&hl=en

I have also used various search engines and facilities to look for alternative 'Richard Stallings' in Kansas City, in an attempt to find out whether there may have been an alternative individual who went to Connecticut in 1963. I have only been able to identify the one Richard Stallings, born in the early 1940s, living in Kansas City since WW2 (although there are others elsewhere in Missouri). This reinforces my belief that the Connecticut offender and the individual named in the Mason case are one and the same.

I now feel I have gone as far as possible in an initial examination. It would be most useful if anyone has access to any sources which could confirm;
1. That the Connecticut and Kansas City Stallings are the same individual.
2. If 1. is true, anything about the history of Stallings from 1966 to 1993.
3. Whether the Mason family have said anything about Stallings' antecedents. As a relative of the mother I would expect them to know of a background like that documented and to shout loudly about it as part of the campaign. If they have not (and it is the right man) I find it curious that such a background has not received focus.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Updated Charley Project link:

http://charleyproject.org/case/laura-e-mason

 

[CastlesBurning]

Still missing, now over 28 years...

Laura Mason

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Laura Mason, 45: Disappeared After Being Dropped Off At A Club In 1993

A relative gave her a ride to a jazz lounge, but no one has seen her since.

October 5, 2021



A birthday celebration spelled disaster for a family after Laura Mason went missing in 1993. Stories that center around women who vanish while enjoying a night out are typically shared by parents to their children in an effort to encourage them to be safer when they are out and about. For decades, Laura’s loved ones have waited for an answer regarding what happened to her on March 24 when she visited a jazz club to celebrate her 45th birthday.

It was on that date when Laura’s relative reportedly gave her a ride to the El Capitan Louge in Kansas City, Missouri near 18th Street and Vine. The last time anyone saw Laura Mason was when she was with Richard Stallings, the owner of the club. Stallings was also Laura’s former brother-in-law, and according to reports, he has given inconsistent statements regarding her disappearance over the years.

Initially, he is reported as telling authorities that he dropped her off nearby at 18th Street and Highland Avenue because she had planned on visiting the Mutual Musicians Foundation. The nursing assistant has never been seen or heard from again.

Meanwhile, two years after Laura’s disappearance, Stallings was facing a serious set of charges. In 1995, he was reportedly put on trial for the death of his girlfriend, Donna Meredith, after authorities claimed that he killed her. Stallings was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. He has refuted any claims that he was involved in her death and explained in a lengthy statement shared to Justice Denied that he only knew of Donna’s tragedy after seeing it on the news. The Victims of the State website, which chronicles cases that it believes are of wrongfully convicted felons, co-signs his sentiment.

An excerpt of the court documents from the Donna Meredith case reads as follow:

“Donna Meredith began a romantic relationship with Mr. Stallings in 1992.  The evidence indicates that Mr. Stallings was jealous and possessive of Ms. Meredith. Huey (James) Love was acquainted with both Ms. Meredith and Mr. Stallings.   In 1993, after he had been released from prison, Mr. Love started seeing Ms. Meredith but stopped seeing her because Mr. Stallings warned Mr. Love that ‘he felt like I was coming between him and his woman and he thought he was going to have to do something to me.’   Mr. Stallings also threatened Willie Wells, a friend of Ms. Meredith, leaving a message on Mr. Wells’ answering machine telling Mr. Wells to stay away from Ms. Meredith.   The message continued that Mr. Wells ‘was a lucky man because if it had been yesterday, I [Wells] would have been dead and I would have never known why I was being killed.’   When Mr. Wells next encountered Mr. Stallings, during a dart tournament at the My Way Restaurant and Lounge, Mr. Stallings told Mr. Wells to stay away from Ms. Meredith.   Mr. Stallings then attacked Mr. Wells by hitting him with a chair.   At some point during the ensuing altercation, Mr. Wells left the restaurant and drove off in his car.   Mr. Stallings pursued Mr. Wells, but ultimately wrecked his own car before the police arrived.   Ms. Meredith’s sister testified that in December 1994, Mr. Stallings threatened to kill a male friend who complimented Ms. Meredith.

“Ms. Meredith broke up with Mr. Stallings in late 1994.  She confided to her daughter, Zena Miles, and her best friend, Brenda Abdekhalig, her fears concerning Mr. Stallings.   Ms. Abdekhalig testified that Ms. Meredith had told her that Mr. Stallings had continued to call even after the break up.   On one occasion, Ms. Abdekhalig went over to Ms. Meredith’s home and saw Mr. Stallings, who gave her an angry look.   When Ms. Meredith later telephoned Ms. Abdekhalig, Ms. Meredith was crying.   She told Ms. Abdekhalig that Mr. Stallings had beaten her up, thrown her on the bed, stuck a pistol in her mouth, and told her that he would kill her.   Ms. Miles testified that she had observed a change in the relationship between Mr. Stallings and her mother.   She recounted that on one occasion in late December 1994 or early January 1995, Ms. Meredith told her, ‘If I come up dead, Richard did it.'”

In 2015, Missouri authorities received a lead that the remains of Laura Mason may have been buried in the backyard of a home. The residence once belonged to Stallings, but after tearing through the yard, they did not find any evidence to help with this case.

“I’ve been to that house. I spent holidays at that house. So just the thought of thinking, if they find my mother in that backyard, oh my God, like, I don’t know how I’m going to feel about this,” said Safiyyah Mills, Laura’s daughter, in 2015. “I appreciate them following up on the tip, and even being willing to go out and dig, but at the same time, it`s just again, emotionally speaking, it`s like I’m starting over again.”

The family established the Laura E. Mason Foundation to continue her legacy through community outreach, philanthropic work, and building arts and education efforts for underserved youth.

“You want to protect yourself. You want to protect your heart,” said Safiyyah. “This is probably me at my most vulnerable state. It`s my mother, you know? It’s my mother. I don`t know where she’s at. So just going through it again, it just makes me emotional… To me, she lived life to the fullest. In my heart, I have to find closure. So, the foundation, that`s where I`m putting all my energy into. Every act of service that we do, that we`re going to do, that we’ve done, that is really her living legacy.”

At the time of her disappearance, Laura Mason stood 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 140 pounds. She had black/dark brown hair (curly) and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a green and black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, a black coat, black shoes, and an Ann Klein watch. She used the alias “Nadiyyah Muhammed” and was known to use the last names “Marks” or “Brannock.” She also spelled her name “Larura,” her middle name begins with an “E,” and she would be 73-years-old at the time of this publication.

Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Kansas City Police Department at (816) 234-5136 or their local authorities. The agency case number is 93-044857.

Please share this story about Laura Mason to reignite the investigation into her case. She is our sister and her life matters.

Laura Mason, 45: Disappeared After Being Dropped Off At A Club In 1993