Kansas City woman charged in mother's stabbing death, police say

A late-night disturbance call in Kansas City’s Northland turned into a family homicide case when officers say they found 22-year-old Makaila Konomos standing in the front yard with blood on her and her mother dead nearby.

Clay County prosecutors charged Konomos with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the stabbing death of 46-year-old Crystal A. Tapia, her mother. Kansas City police were called just before 12:15 a.m. June 4, 2026, to a home on North Topping Avenue near Northeast 49th Street. Officers then were directed to a separate residence in the 5700 block of NE 49th Street, where Tapia was found in a driveway next to a kitchen knife.

Police said Tapia had more than 20 cuts and stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Court records say Konomos was found outside with blood on her and made statements that pointed officers toward the killing, including, "It’s my mom’s" and "Can we not report this murder."

The case moved quickly from a domestic call to a murder filing because investigators say the evidence lined up from multiple directions. One witness told police the mother and daughter had been arguing the day before the killing. Another said a blood-covered woman came to the door yelling for help and said, "I just killed my mom." A sister of Konomos told police that Tapia had said Konomos had a knife and was arguing with her, and another sibling later received a text from Konomos saying she had killed their mother.

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said the state alleges Konomos acted "knowingly, after deliberation" when she cut Tapia with a knife. That language matters in a first-degree murder case, because prosecutors are alleging not just a fatal assault, but a killing carried out with deliberation. Thompson also called the death a "tragic and devastating loss of life" and said his office’s hearts go out to Tapia’s family and loved ones.

Konomos denied killing her mother during a police interview and asked for a lawyer. Her bond was set at $1 million, and her arraignment was scheduled for Monday, June 8. Police said the incident appeared to stem from an ongoing argument and that the victim and suspect were related, with no other persons of interest being sought.

What began as a disturbance on North Topping Avenue ended with a mother dead in a driveway, a daughter in custody, and a family waiting for the next court date to see how the case unfolds.