KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Clay County Prosecutors charged a Kansas City, Missouri, man after a homicide and subsequent fire Saturday at London Towers Apartments in Gladstone.
Noah Cole, 23, if convicted, could face life in prison without parole for murder in the first degree, at least three years in prison for armed criminal action and a minimum sentence of five years and maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for both arson in the first degree and burglary in the first degree.
Bond was set Wednesday for $1 million.
The Gladstone Fire Department was dispatched to the apartments in response to smoke in a resident's apartment at 7:17 p.m. Saturday.
At the scene, firefighters located a deceased man with multiple stab wounds who appeared to have been set on fire. Court documents filed in the case outline the victim had been stabbed to death prior to being set on fire.
Multiple items were missing from the victim's apartment.
During an investigation led by the Kansas City Metro Squad, Gladstone Police Department and Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, Cole emerged as a suspect. After officers received a search warrant for Cole's residence, multiple missing items belonging to the victim and several knives and bloody clothes were found.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to clarify the victim died prior to the fire, based on court documents.
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