Missouri landlord accused of stabbing tenant to death over freezing rental

A Missouri landlord allegedly “flipped” and stabbed a tenant more than 30 times after he was called to a young couple’s new rental home to fix the heating. 

Gordon McBeth, 44, has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 28-year-old Darryl Gilland in Kansas City on Friday afternoon.

McBeth is accused of stabbing Gilland more than 30 times in a frenzied attack after the victim and his fiancée, 23-year-old Samantha Pohlman, messaged the landlord to tell him the heating in their home wasn’t working, according to court documents cited by the Kansas City Star. 

Pohlman said that she and Gilland had only moved into the residence near Topping Avenue in the Kansas City suburb of Northland a week before.

“At first, the guy was perfectly nice about it,” she told KCTV5. “He was like, ‘yeah I’ll come over and we’ll do that’ and then just out of nowhere he completely flipped and acted like we were asking too much and being a complete burden.”

Witnesses reported hearing McBeth driving erratically into the couple’s driveway at around 3.30 p.m. on Friday.

Pohlman said that McBeth got out of the car and threw some packs of insulation at her and Gilland.

She told Fox 4 that the irate landlord said, “If that’s not good enough, I will kill you,” and then pulled a long knife from a sheath on his belt and started stabbing Gilland.

McBeth reportedly stabbed Gilland more than 30 times as Pohlman ran to get help.

According to prosecutors, one neighbor told police that he heard “horrific screaming” before arriving at the couple’s home to see McBeth on top of the victim holding a knife with both hands and repeatedly stabbing him.

The local man pulled McBeth off Gilland while another neighbor detained the landlord at gunpoint until cops arrived.

Pohlman told Fox 4 that Gilland, her boyfriend of 5 years, died in her arms.

“I held his head and I told him it was going to be okay and that the ambulance was coming. And that I loved him,” she told the channel.

First responders arrived to find Gilland with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

McBeth was arrested and is being held in the Clay County Detention Center after failing to post a $1 million bond. He is due back in court on November 2.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover the cost of transporting Gilland’s body to his home state of Indiana, where he is to be buried alongside his grandparents.

It had raised nearly $1,000 more than its $10,000 target as of Wednesday morning.