ST. PAUL, Minn. — Authorities are currently searching for a Minnesota man recently released on parole for murder, who is facing charges for the killing of his pregnant wife and is also suspected in another shooting incident.
Mychel Stowers, aged 36, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the October 19 shooting that claimed the life of 35-year-old Damara Alexis Kirkland, who was approximately two months pregnant.
When police arrived at the scene after hearing gunfire reports, they discovered Kirkland’s lifeless body on the floor of her apartment. Inside the residence, officers found ultrasound photos as well as a letter addressed to Stowers in the mailbox, as detailed in a recently filed statement of probable cause.
Stowers had been released on parole from prison in March after serving time for a second-degree murder charge related to the shooting death of a man in St. Paul back in 2008. At the time of Kirkland’s murder, he was participating in a work-release program and residing in a halfway house; however, he had been granted permission to visit a woman identified in documents as his ex-wife on the day the shooting occurred.
Stowers had initiated divorce proceedings in June, although there are indications that the legal process had not been completed, according to other court documents.
The landlord of Kirkland’s apartment revealed that her estranged husband, Stowers, was staying with her, which was against the rules since he wasn’t listed on the lease. This situation was further complicated by an eviction notice that the landlord had issued.
Shortly after the report of Kirkland’s shooting, police responded to a nearby incident involving a carjacking, where they found a 36-year-old man injured on the ground. The victim disclosed that while he had left his car running with the keys in the ignition to dispose of some trash, a man resembling Stowers approached him and shot him, resulting in a broken femur. Additionally, the shooter attempted to fire at another person with the victim but missed.
After the shooting, the suspect fled but returned shortly after to steal the victim’s vehicle, as noted in the police records. Preliminary investigations indicate that the firearm used in the carjacking matched the one utilized in Kirkland’s murder.
Later that same day, an employee from the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office received a phone call from Stowers, who expressed a desire to turn himself in, admitting to shooting someone. However, he did not follow through with this offer, and authorities later located the stolen vehicle in a nearby parking lot.
