A Lenexa woman has been charged with six felonies, including second-degree murder and armed criminal action, in connection to the shooting death of a teenager in Kansas City, Missouri.
On Aug. 28, Bailey Lewis, 21, of Lenexa, was charged in Jackson County, Missouri, District Court for her alleged role in the shooting death of Traelynn Sibley, 16, of Grandview, Missouri.
Lewis faces charges of second-degree felony murder, three counts of accessory armed criminal action and two counts of accessory unlawful use of a weapon.
An attorney for Lewis did not return a request for comment from the Johnson County Post.
Lewis is accused of shooting teen inside a home
At about 10 p.m. on Aug. 9, Kansas City, Missouri, police were dispatched to a shooting at at a residence at the 3600 block of Norton Avenue in Kansas City.
When they arrived, they discovered Sibley in a bathroom, suffering from gunshot to her throat. She was transported to a nearby hospital where she died.
After police conducted interviews of other people in the same place, they all told similar accounts of a night that started out fun but then turned tragic, according to a probable cause statement.
“They described a normal night with two of the females fixing each other’s hair at a vanity near the front door of the structure, one female was in back bedroom while two adult males were playing video games in the living room,” investigators wrote in the probable cause statement.
The witnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing projectiles enter the home through the front door and living room wall and window. Sibley was struck by gunfire while fixing her friend’s hair at the vanity and ran to the bathroom, where she collapsed.
Witnesses could not identify who fired the shots, according to investigators.
“No party inside the home could provide any suspect information as they did not witness the shooters nor did they know who would have motive to harm them,” the probable cause statement read.
Police tracked a vehicle that drove away from shooting
While canvassing the area, police couldn’t find any witnesses to the shooting, but investigators were able to obtain three videos of a “newer model gray Hyundai Elantra,” driving in the area at a high rate of speed while shots were being fired.
The vehicle was in motion and no other people or sound of people were able to be seen before or after the vehicle was seen on camera, leading police to identify the Elantra as the suspect vehicle, according to the probable cause statement.
Tracking the vehicle using traffic cameras in the area, police were able to locate the Elantra driving to and stopping at a nearby gas station.
They were able to obtain security footage at the gas station that showed three individuals exiting the car. Lewis allegedly was the driver, according to investigators.
After re-interviewing some of the witnesses that were at the residence during the shooting, police confirmed at least one of them was a friend that had a falling out with Lewis.
When presented with photos of Lewis at the gas station, two of the witnesses at the home positively identified her.
On Aug. 28, Lewis was identified as a person of interest and arrested in Independence, Missouri.
“She was driving her vehicle, which was the same 2025 gray Hyundai Elantra, with a handgun and cellphone in plain view when she was arrested,” the probable cause statement stated.
Victim known as “bright, sunny girl”
Following the shooting, tributes to Sibley poured out on social media.
The Remembrance Flower Garden in Grandview planted a flower for her. The garden has flowers and signs for everyone murdered in Grandview or connected to the Grandview community since 2019, according to its Facebook post.
A friend of Sibley’s posted on social media about the hurt she and others are feeling with Sibley’s absence.
“We were together every single day at one point, when we lived next to each other. You’re gone, but no one will ever forget you and the light that you brought everywhere you went. I drove past your house yesterday and it hurt so bad. This isn’t fair,” they wrote.
Sibley was a free spirit who loved to dance and draw, Cassandra O’Dell, Sibley’s mother, said in an interview with KCTV5.
“She was a beautiful, bright, sunny girl,” O’Dell said. “She was a free spirit and almost always smiling and happy … (She) wanted to be a beautician someday. We are absolutely broken by the loss of our sweet girl. I want to bring awareness to how these tragedies affect the community.”
In response to Sibley’s death, O’Dell launched a Change.org petition asking Kansas City officials for more police visibility and protection in areas most affected by gun violence and stronger legislation to keep guns out of the possession of kids. More than 1,200 people have signed it.
“Children should not live in fear. Parents should not have to bury their kids. Communities deserve real protection,” she wrote.
What’s next
Lewis is scheduled to be arraigned in Jackson County District Court on Oct. 7.
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