In lengthy testimony, Leticia Starks ultimately declined to implicate her brother in a burglary that occurred days before he was accused of shooting a neighbor dead in a Gary apartment complex.
Thomas Starks, 22, of Gary, is charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and burglary in the August 8, 2023, shooting death of Kajah Wilson, 27. The shooting also wounded her fiancé, Richard Casson. At the time, the defendant lived upstairs from the couple.
Authorities allege that Thomas and Leticia Starks robbed the couple’s apartment, and that Wilson confronted Leticia about the burglary days before the shooting. Leticia’s testimony led the trial into a complicated situation, where she pleaded the Fifth Amendment on cross-examination Wednesday and requested a lawyer.
The central issue arose when she testified that she lied when she signed a plea agreement in May 2024 for her role in the burglary. That agreement had implicated her brother. Leticia stated that she had lied to avoid prison and get back home to her children. In court, Deputy Prosecutor Veronica Gonzalez told Judge Natalie Bokota that she was blindsided by this revelation.
Leticia had admitted in a pre-trial meeting that she was present during the burglary of the couple’s apartment. However, she was not implicated in the shooting itself. Interestingly, after the incident, she messaged her brother’s fiancé on Facebook to ask if he was okay, the prosecutor said.
By late Thursday morning, Leticia’s attorney, Nick Barnes, negotiated an immunity deal allowing her to testify safely that she had lied in the past; however, she could still face potential perjury charges if she lied during her testimony that day.
When defense lawyer Mike Woods resumed cross-examination, he asked if her brother was the man seen on video burglarizing the neighbor’s apartment with her. Leticia admitted only her own involvement.
“None of that is true,” she said, “besides what I did.”
She later claimed the man wearing a mask and holding a gun was already present before she arrived and that she didn’t know his identity.
“I feared for my life,” she told Woods.
Woods noted that she appeared to walk around the apartment freely and then asked if the man was her child’s father. She responded she did not know.
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Gary Police were called on August 8, 2023, around 11 p.m., to the Willows Apartments on the 300 block of Clark Road following reports of shots fired. Wilson was found shot inside the commons area.
Wilson’s fiancé told officers they were returning from Buffalo Wild Wings when a gunman ambushed them from above. Casson said he and Wilson both carried guns—an AR pistol and a Glock 22, respectively—because they had been having problems with their upstairs neighbors.
Lake County Coroner’s Office Forensic Pathologist Dr. Zhuo Wang determined Wilson had been shot seven times from above. Police found that she had fallen back down the steps.
Investigators learned that the upstairs neighbors, Thomas and Leticia Starks, were caught on camera burglarizing the victims’ apartment. Packages had also gone missing, according to the affidavit.
A July 25, 2023, police report noted that the victims’ door handle was broken, as if the burglars had forced their way inside. Items missing included an iPad, iPhone, and Nike gym shoes.
Apartment video footage appeared to show a man and a woman with orange hair rummaging through the unit. The man wore a face mask, Nike sweatshirt, and dark pants. He held a gun and wore a purple glove on his left hand.
The building’s exterior camera did not capture them entering, leading police to believe they lived in the building.
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/24/sister-declines-to-implicate-starks-in-burglary-days-before-killing/
