Posted on Wed, Jun. 19, 2002
Death at Leawood pool investigated as homicide
By RICHARD ESPINOZA
The Kansas City Star
A 19-year-old Leawood woman died Tuesday after she suffered a severe head injury at the neighborhood pool where she worked at 123rd Street and State Line Road.
Police are investigating the death of Alexandra Elizabeth Kemp as a homicide, and they want to talk to anyone who visited the Foxborough town homes' pool Tuesday.
Kemp, who went by Ali, was working as the pool attendant. Her brother found her in the pump room about 5:30 p.m., suffering from a severe head injury, rescuers said.
Kemp's brother called her father, who phoned 911 from the pool. Firefighters thought Kemp had a pulse when they arrived, but it was gone by the time a Med-Act ambulance crew arrived about two minutes later. The crew rushed Kemp to St. Joseph Health Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Police found the pool area empty except for Kemp's family and a few lawn-care workers who were in the parking lot. Police said none of them was a suspect. Police did not see anything in the pump room that obviously was a weapon.
The pool is usually busy in the early evenings, a Foxborough resident said, and detectives want to talk to anyone who was there. Anyone with information should call Leawood police at (913) 642-5555 or the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS (474-8477). TIPS callers can remain anonymous; a reward of as much as $1,000 may be available.
"What I'd be interested in would be anyone who came to the pool...anybody who was here at all," said Leawood Police Capt. Scott Barton. "You don't know what could help."
The pump room is a small, dark building next to the swimming pool that is illuminated by a single bulb, said Matt Sherriff, who used to visit a friend who worked there from 1997 to 2000. It's packed with chemicals, pipes and a large pump, and swimmers would not normally look inside, Sherriff said.
Pool attendants, who do not need to be trained as lifeguards, use the room to monitor water flow and chemical levels throughout the day. Several years ago, attendants also kept a log of pool patrons, but they had stopped doing so by 1997, Sherriff said.
People who knew Kemp remembered her as a polite young woman who enjoyed sports and worked with the Blue Valley North High School spirit club before she graduated in 2001.
"She was always very proper," said family friend Tom Bizal. "She'd see you and she'd say `Mr.' this and `Mrs.' that. She was a great girl."
Kemp had finished her freshman year at Kansas State University, where she was ranked in the top 10 percent of her class. She played intramural soccer and basketball.
Mallory McCracken, who attended high school with Kemp and ran into her at parties, said she was a bright woman with many friends.
"She was really popular," McCracken said, "really, really smart. You'd never expect something like this to happen to her. She was so sweet."
Death at Leawood pool investigated as homicide
By RICHARD ESPINOZA
The Kansas City Star
A 19-year-old Leawood woman died Tuesday after she suffered a severe head injury at the neighborhood pool where she worked at 123rd Street and State Line Road.
Police are investigating the death of Alexandra Elizabeth Kemp as a homicide, and they want to talk to anyone who visited the Foxborough town homes' pool Tuesday.
Kemp, who went by Ali, was working as the pool attendant. Her brother found her in the pump room about 5:30 p.m., suffering from a severe head injury, rescuers said.
Kemp's brother called her father, who phoned 911 from the pool. Firefighters thought Kemp had a pulse when they arrived, but it was gone by the time a Med-Act ambulance crew arrived about two minutes later. The crew rushed Kemp to St. Joseph Health Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Police found the pool area empty except for Kemp's family and a few lawn-care workers who were in the parking lot. Police said none of them was a suspect. Police did not see anything in the pump room that obviously was a weapon.
The pool is usually busy in the early evenings, a Foxborough resident said, and detectives want to talk to anyone who was there. Anyone with information should call Leawood police at (913) 642-5555 or the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS (474-8477). TIPS callers can remain anonymous; a reward of as much as $1,000 may be available.
"What I'd be interested in would be anyone who came to the pool...anybody who was here at all," said Leawood Police Capt. Scott Barton. "You don't know what could help."
The pump room is a small, dark building next to the swimming pool that is illuminated by a single bulb, said Matt Sherriff, who used to visit a friend who worked there from 1997 to 2000. It's packed with chemicals, pipes and a large pump, and swimmers would not normally look inside, Sherriff said.
Pool attendants, who do not need to be trained as lifeguards, use the room to monitor water flow and chemical levels throughout the day. Several years ago, attendants also kept a log of pool patrons, but they had stopped doing so by 1997, Sherriff said.
People who knew Kemp remembered her as a polite young woman who enjoyed sports and worked with the Blue Valley North High School spirit club before she graduated in 2001.
"She was always very proper," said family friend Tom Bizal. "She'd see you and she'd say `Mr.' this and `Mrs.' that. She was a great girl."
Kemp had finished her freshman year at Kansas State University, where she was ranked in the top 10 percent of her class. She played intramural soccer and basketball.
Mallory McCracken, who attended high school with Kemp and ran into her at parties, said she was a bright woman with many friends.
"She was really popular," McCracken said, "really, really smart. You'd never expect something like this to happen to her. She was so sweet."
