Kansas City Children’s Memorial honors lives lost to violence

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A memorial was unveiled Thursday with the names of more than 100 Kansas City children who have lost their lives to violence.

The new monument is at Hibbs Park, in a section referred to as Precious Doe Park.

The entire space is a tribute to young lives lost too soon. The unveiling was filled with tears and sorrow from families, local leaders, and advocates. But, they also shared loving memories as the memorial was shown for the very first time.

One of those to share was Robert Dorsey. He’s the grandfather of Zechariah Washington, who was shot and killed in an apartment parking lot in 2023. Zechariah’s name now lives forever at the park.

The memorial is to serve not only as a remembrance of the children, but as a call to action in the community to end the violence.

“The people coming today, along with me, we’ve lost a loved one. But still, there’s always sunshine at the end of what’s going on with us. Our sadness, our hurt, there’s always something here that we can hold onto,” he said.

The Precious Doe section of the park has served as a memorial for Erica Green, a young girl decapitated by her parents in spring 2001. She remained unidentified for years before her parents were arrested for her murder.

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