A Kansas City man has been charged with rape and is suspected of murder after one of the most horrid local crimes in recent history struck the Platte City community early Saturday. The night of the crime included the rape of a Platte City woman in her home on Maple Drive and the death of her husband, whose body was found along a dead-end outer road on the east side of Interstate 29 about two miles north of the Mexico City exit near KCI Airport. Jacob E. McGinniss, 24, a resident of the Springs apartments on Barry Road, was charged with rape and armed criminal action early Sunday morning by Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd. Authorities confirm they consider McGinniss the only suspect at this point in the killing of the woman’s husband, Steve J. Sandoval, 32 of Platte City. McGinniss is being held in the Platte County Detention Center on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
Motorcycles, music, food and fun–as well as an appearance by daredevil Evel Knievel–highlighted the third annual Platte City End of the Trail Festival held Friday and Saturday. Knievel led a charity ride from Worth Harley Davidson in Gladstone to Platte City and spent about 30 minutes in town, including enjoying a beverage at Pirates Cove on Main Street. A crowd gathered near the stage at Third and Main to enjoy the sounds of the Bob Harvey Band for a street dance Saturday night. Police Chief Joe McHale estimated Saturday’s crowd at 5,100 people.