Man charged with murder; victim’s dismembered body found in fire at Northland home

May 14-- May 14--A man was charged Tuesday with fatally shooting and dismembering a man whose body was found by firefighters in the basement of a home last week in Northland.

Colton Stock, 30, is accused of killing Matthew Calkins, a Johnson County man who was a 2002 graduate of the Kansas School for the Deaf. The shooting took place sometime between May 3 and May 5.

In addition to first-degree murder, Stock is charged with armed criminal action, abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

Stock is accused of cutting off Calkins' head, arms and legs, according to charging documents from the Clay County Prosecutor's Office. He also destroyed carpet by burning it, prosecutors said.

On May 5, authorities responded to a report of gunshots in the 5600 block of North Poe Street. When officers arrived, they discovered a fire in the basement of the home.

Firefighters found Calkins' body as the blaze was extinguished.

The sound of the gunshot was apparently related to an incident that occurred just prior to the fire.

A man police said was a victim of an assault at the home, Floyd Wood, said Stock asked him to look at a motorcycle in the basement. Wood said he could try to fix the motorcycle but needed to get his tools, according to charging documents. After he went upstairs, Stock allegedly grabbed him in a choke hold and struck him in the face.

Wood managed to get out of the house and as he ran, he heard a single gunshot.

Stock was taken into custody that day.

"I was in a fight for my life," Stock told police, according to charging documents in the assault of Floyd Wood. "He had a gun. I took it from him and shot at him."

In the incident involving Wood, Stock is charged with assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.

Stock is being held at the Clay County jail with bond set at $1 million cash only.

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