The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office has dropped all six charges against an Independence man who allegedly shot and killed a young pregnant woman at a shopping mall last year.
The November 10 shooting left 19-year-old Karla Brown dead, shot in the head after a confrontation between two groups at the Independence Center.
MarkAnthony Greer, 21, was originally charged with three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and three counts of armed criminal action for his alleged role in the shooting. One of the weapons charges was upgraded to second-degree murder earlier this year.
Court records show the shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. in a covered walkway of a shopping mall. Greer and Brown entered with separate groups of people, and Brown had fallen back and sat down in a nearby chair before the altercation turned violent.
At the time of the shooting, Greer told detectives he was in the mall but was not armed.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed Monday that the charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence collected during the preliminary investigation.
“The evidence we have obtained since the filing has convinced us that we cannot prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office.
However, the county’s investigation into Greer will continue and additional charges could be filed, Mansur said.
The weapons used in the shooting were not seized by police, who instead relied on blood spatter and shell casings as evidence, The Star previously reported.
According to friends and family, Brown had gone to the mall to buy baby clothes. She was four months pregnant and expecting a baby boy, whom she planned to name Max, when she was shot.
Brown was put on life support after the shooting and died about a week later. Her family filed a lawsuit in April against the mall and its security company, alleging that both were negligent in their duty to keep the mall safe and secure.
Greer was also shot in the lower back during the incident, according to court documents, and three other people were each shot in the leg. Court documents indicate that at least one member of each group may have shot each other.
A second juvenile, 19-year-old Leandre Peterson Jr., still faces charges of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. He was originally charged with destroying, suppressing or concealing a weapon during the shooting.
