A Saturday report by The New York Post questioned the original story of her death, alleging, based on a neighbor's account, that her death wasn't a random case of stray bullets, but rather one of mistaken identity and murder, perpetrated by an angry boyfriend.
According to the report, on April 22, Okeson-Haberman was shot in the head and left unconscious. The next day, her boss at the NPR-affiliate KCUR found her and brought her to the hospital, where she was placed on life support.
After the pronouncement of her death, Kansas City Police opened an investigation into the shooting.
A neighbor, Sadi Sumpter, 26, has since alleged that she thinks the bullet was meant for her, and that the 24-year-old journalist's death was simply a case of mistaken identity, the newspaper reported.
Sumpter explained that they lived across the street from each other, and that when Okeson-Haberman was shot, she was sitting in the same spot where she usually sits, leading to the confusion.
"It was intentional," she told the Post. "I told the police in March someone was going to die."
Sumpter was under this impression due to an attempted break-in by her ex-boyfriend into her own apartment on March 21. The Post noted that court records indicate the man was arrested and charged with assault.
This, according to Sumpter, was just the tip of the iceberg. Other incidents of harassment against her include threats from her ex's current "baby mama," slashed tires and sugar in her gas tank, the newspaper reported.
On April 9, Okeson-Haberman announced her new job on Twitter and that she was more than ready to take on the task. “Social services is a tough beat, but I’m a tough reporter,” she wrote in her application for her new job at the time.
The police investigation is ongoing.