Killa City: The faces of Kansas City, Mo.’s dead

They say the eyes of the dead are fixed in a thousand-yard stare — an unblinking, unremitting gaze into the abyss instead of their own futures.

Captured in life, these faces tell small secrets about their owners. Some were fierce and defiant, burning with anger, flashing gold teeth and neck tattoos. Others wear resignation, their foreheads creased in sorrow or regret.

They died by violence in empty cars and vacant lots, or bled out, shot and alone, on the pavement. These are a few of more than 150 people lost this year in Killa City.