Second person charged in case of body found in duffel bag

FAUCETT, Mo. (AP) – A second person has been charged in the killing of an Independence woman whose body was found in a duffle bag last year in rural Buchanan County.

Marcus Brooks, who was arrested in February, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Ariel Starcher.

Prosecutors have also charged Taylor Stoughton, 22, with second-degree murder in the case.

A Missouri Transportation Department worker found the bag with Starcher’s body inside it on Feb. 18, 2020 alongside a road about 45 miles north of Kansas City.

Court documents say Stoughton told investigators that she and Brooks strangled Starcher on Feb. 5, 2020, at a Kansas City hotel.