Kansas City, MO – A Missouri man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly running over his pregnant ex-girlfriend with a pickup truck and then fatally shooting her in broad daylight, authorities said.
According to the Kansas City Police Department, 42-year-old Arel Dawkins, of Blue Springs, is accused in the brutal killing of Braisen Cain last Wednesday in the 4000 block of Morrell Avenue. Investigators say the attack followed a “recent” breakup between the pair.
Court records allege that Dawkins opened fire with a .40 caliber pistol, discharging 21 rounds in total at one point stopping to reload after running out of ammunition.
Neighbors and acquaintances of Cain reportedly told police they believed Dawkins was responsible. One witness allegedly captured disturbing cell phone footage showing him “running over” Cain and shooting her “as she is lying” in a yard.
“The victim recently broke up with Arel and she was pregnant with Arel’s child,” the probable cause statement says.
Authorities allege Dawkins later admitted the killing to an old high school friend who cuts his hair. During a phone call, “Dawkins confessed to him that he had struck [Cain] with his vehicle before shooting her,” police said.
Surveillance footage obtained by investigators reportedly shows Dawkins stepping out of the driver’s seat of his Ford F-150 “as the vehicle starts rolling backwards” after striking Cain.
“Dawkins points a firearm at [Cain] as she is lying in the yard and shoots her several times at close range,” the statement reads. “Dawkins then turns and walks towards the street and once he is in the street, he turned towards [Cain] and began firing at her again.”
Police said they received “several 911 calls” from Dawkins’ family members at the time of the incident, reporting that he had contacted them to confess to murder and had threatened to take his own life.
Authorities tracked him to Springfield through cell phone location data, and he was later identified in a photographic lineup. Dawkins is currently being held without bond in the Greene County Jail.
