Blood for Blow

Dale and Johnson returned to the kitchen and found two and a half kilos of cocaine and cash in the freezer.

Before they left, Dale fired one last shot into the right side of Raya's head.

While Raya was to be shopping with her mother and sisters Saturday morning, Rios was supposed to be eating breakfast with his next-door neighbors — his grandparents, Francisco and Lupe Rios.

Lupe Rios called her grandson at about 10 a.m. to let him know that the food was on the table, but he didn't answer. She left a message on the couple's answering machine.

By 7:45 p.m., Lupe and Francisco still hadn't seen Rios. It was strange for neither him nor Raya to stop by for a visit. Lupe wondered aloud if the young couple was feuding.

"Why don't you go down there and check to see if they're there?" Lupe asked Francisco.

The elder Rios' house was only a couple of feet away from their grandson's; a fence linked the two properties.

Francisco noticed a light on. He walked to the back door and knocked, but no one answered. He checked the door. It was unlocked, so he walked in.

Francisco saw his grandson's body lying in a pool of blood next to the refrigerator. In the living room, Raya's body was slumped over on the couch. In her left hand was a pen. A bloody thank-you card sat on the couch cushion above her head.

Francisco called 911. The shock of seeing his grandson and his girlfriend dead was too much for him. He ran from the house crying and screaming.

"I lost it," Francisco would testify later.

Lupe met him outside the house.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Anthony and Olivia had been shot, he told her.

Lupe wanted to go inside the house.

"No, don't go inside," he pleaded with her.

Officer Joshua Maxfield reached the scene at about 8 p.m.

Francisco flagged down Maxfield's patrol car.

"My grandson's been shot," Francisco said.

"Are there any suspects in the house?" asked Maxfield, a stocky redhead with the Kansas City Police Department.

"No," Francisco said.

Maxfield found no signs of a struggle or forced entry. The blood had dripped from the kitchen to the basement and pooled on the floor below. Blood stained the kitchen cabinets and floor. A blood-spattered grocery sack next to Rios' head contained marijuana. Investigators found about $65,000 worth of marijuana and $20,000 worth of cocaine.

Though the house was filled with drugs, there was little evidence pointing to a killer. The murderers left no fingerprints or shell casings. There were no DNA traces from the murderers on the bodies. They didn't find the murder weapon. A single hair that had been dyed was found on the body of Rios. But it offered no leads.The only substantial evidence was a partial bloody shoe print leading from the kitchen to the living room. The triangular pattern and dots would match the sole of Diesel-brand shoes.

Just days before Christmas, Raya's and Rios' homicides were widely reported in the media. Police reported no leads. Family members told reporters that they couldn't imagine why anyone would want to kill the couple. "Raya's relatives remembered her and Rios as friendly, giving people," The Kansas City Star reported. Her sister Raquel told the paper that Raya was outgoing and would "always do anything for anybody." Raya's aunt, Patricia Rodriguez, described Rios as "a big man with a big heart," according to the Star. "Anybody needed help, he was there.... He spoiled her, really spoiled her. Everybody loved him."

"They were nice people, always doing what they could for people," added Raya's sister Sara. "They must have just opened their hearts to someone who took advantage of them."

Dyshawn Johnson whipped through a 25-mph zone in his black 2002 Yukon Denali. It was February 12, 2003, and Johnson was cruising southbound on Iron Street in North Kansas City.

Officer Robert Masterson pulled Johnson over for speeding. Johnson's license had been revoked. That was enough to take him into custody. A cursory search of the SUV found a plastic bag of marijuana and a receipt for a Southwest Airlines flight to Los Angeles. The departure date was December 21, the day after the slayings.

Johnson had $2,355 in his right pant pocket and $3,500 in his left shoe. He wore a $6,000 Cartier watch, a $4,500 ring, a $4,000 diamond earring and a $10,000 silver chain and cross.

In 1993, Johnson and his brother, Bryant Burton, moved to Kansas City from California to "hustle." Johnson and Burton bought drugs in Los Angeles and mailed them to Kansas City. Their profit margins jumped in the Midwest. They could buy 9 ounces of cocaine for $3,500 in Los Angeles and turn it into $6,000 in Kansas City.

By 2001, Burton was also buying 2 or 3 kilos a month from Rios. The relationship was solid, Burton would later testify. They were "good friends."