Tityana Coppage: The Real-Life Vigilante Who Avenged Her Brother’s Death
Jackson County Detention CenterTityana Coppage texted her dead brother after shooting his suspected killer: “I owe em that body.”
When 21-year-old Tityana Coppage first heard the news of her brother’s murder, thoughts of revenge instantly flooded her mind. On January 10, 2021, 16-year-old Jason Ugwuh was fatally shot and killed in an unsolved homicide in Kansas City, Missouri. An exceptional student and basketball player, his death rocked the community — and led Coppage to kill.
Police were still working on the case when the suspected killer was gunned down in a parking lot three days later. It didn’t take long for authorities to tie Coppage to the shooting, as surveillance footage tracked her entire journey from her house to the scene where 36-year-old Keith Lars was found dead.
When authorities searched her text messages, they found two additional pieces of evidence. The first was a message to her dead brother in which she said, “Sent a n***a to my brother I owe em that body.” Another text to a contact named “Auntie” inquired about .45-caliber ammunition.
FacebookTityana Coppage’s brother Jason Ugwuh was killed in a drive-by shooting.
Coppage had also posted an emotional message on Facebook: “I tried to shield y’all from everything I had to witness as a kid. I worked hard and long hours to keep a roof over y’all head… All I wanted was to see you happy finish school and make it to the top. But some how I still failed you.”
Fueling Coppage’s urge to seek justice, two of her other family members had been killed in 2016. Both children, the boys died in their beds after a shooting sent bullets tearing through their bedroom walls. Sadly, those murders were never solved, with Coppage keen on doling out justice herself.
Ultimately, it seems that members of her community provided Coppage with the whereabouts of her brother’s suspected killer. And clearly, she was willing to accept her arrest if it meant that the man didn’t kill anyone else.
