The 12 Most Heinous Crimes in St. Louis in 2016

By Riverfront Times Staff on Thu, Dec 29, 2016 at 10:26 pm

Every year has its homicides and beatings, but this year seemed particularly violent to many in the greater St. Louis area. Here are twelve horrible crimes that captured the public's attention.

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Police officer shot point-blank, killed
Thirty-three-year-old Blake Snyder (above right) was gunned down "point blank" during an early morning call in south county, devastating his wife and young son. Charged in what appears to be a cold-blooded murder is 18-year-old Trenton Forster of Affton (left). It was a tough year for police, with several local incidences of ambush and targeted shootings, but Snyder's death seemed to hit hardest of all. Photos via St. Louis County Police.

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Carjackers killed a young mother and drove off with her baby
Brandi Hill was driving through downtown St. Louis with her baby in the backseat when two men rushed the car, demanded Hill's keys and shot her, leaving her dead body in the street, as the RFT reported. The men sped away with her baby in the car, later chucking the baby girl in her car seat out of the car. One suspect later surrendered; the second was killed in a police shootout days later in Illinois. Image via SLMPD/Youtube

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Older man beaten on Cherokee in broad daylight
An older man was taking a walk on Cherokee Street around noon when he was beaten, left with a broken jaw, a broken eye socket and even part of his tongue missing, as the RFT reported. A GoFundMe raised $14,681, more than fourteen times its goal. Image via GoFundMe.

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Woman murdered by joy-riding teens
Police say Monica Shaw (above right) was an innocent victim chosen at random when a group of teens confronted her on the street in the Central West End. They later told police they were approaching people trying to get them to buy pot when gunman Xavier Perkins (left) pulled the trigger and left Shaw for dead in the streets. Perkins has been charged with first-degree murder.

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Man killed baby while trying to shoot the child's mother
Eight-month-old Reign Crockett was killed when his father fired a shot at his mother, who was fleeing the car he drove through north city. Two of Reign's brothers were still in the car as their father, Diata Crockett, drove away, leading to an Amber Alert. Diata Crockett later surrendered to police. Shown in the photo is two-year-old Rycker Crockett, who was with his father when he fled the murder scene but was later found unharmed. Image via SLMPD.

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Syrian refugees attacked
St. Louis welcomed more than 200 refugees fleeing war-torn Syria in the most recent fiscal year alone. But not all of them found peace in St. Louis. In addition to difficult living conditions, four young refugees were attacked near their home in Hodiamont Avenue in north St. Louis -- a troubling incident in a city that officially professed to put out its welcome mat. Photo by Danny Wicentowski.

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Good samaritans beaten by a dozen-plus attackers in south city
A couple was brutally attacked on the porch of their Gravois Park home after the woman told police she saw a crowd harassing a local teen and shouted at them to leave the girl alone. The result? A severe beating in which the couple was punched, kicked and smashed with their own clay flowerpots. They say they're now afraid to return to their home. Both images via Rob Ludwig.

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A young man senselessly killed in north county
The murder of Jorell Cleveland, 19, may have seemed so tragic simply because it was so common. As RFT contributor Ben Westhoff detailed in a heartbreaking essay, Cleveland was a hard-working kid proud of his job at a fish-and-chicken joint -- but he couldn't escape the violence of Kinloch.

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Beloved pregnant schoolteacher murdered by her boyfriend
Jocelyn Peters was seven months pregnant when she was found murdered in her Central West End apartment. The third grade teacher at Mann Elementary was expecting a girl. But Peters' boyfriend, a high school principal named Cornelius Green, was apparently not so pleased about her pregnancy. Police say Green hired a childhood friend to murder his girlfriend. He's also accused of stealing money from a student dance group at his school. Photo via Facebook.

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Kids in a BMW yell 'get that nigga,' run down local artist
In July, motivational speaker and hip-hop artist Jah Orah was on his bicycle in south city when he was run down by a group of youths in a BMW yelling "get that nigga." They hit him with their car and threatened him with their handgun before leaving him in the alley with a broken clavicle and sprained feet, as the RFT reported. The police later linked the attackers to a group of county teens who lured Pokemon players to O'Fallon in order to rob them. Photo via GoFundMe

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Cab driver murdered in the Central West End
Timothy Grice, 38, was alone in his cab on Laclede when two young men approached. They robbed Grice and then shot him in the neck, killing him. Shakur Ellis, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder in the attack. Image via SLMPD.

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Two boys murdered by their father in cold blood
Even in a tough year, this horrible murder still stings incredibly hard. The two sons of Christopher Cadenbach of Washington, Missouri, had been in their grandmother's house in south county when their father snatched them. While police were closing in, Cadenbach shot the two boys, killing them before shooting himself in the head. The boy's mother, Elisa Santorius-Cadenbach, had been granted an order of protection against her estranged husband, who she was divorcing. "He was trying to get back at me and hurt me the best way he knew how," she said. Image via GoFundMe.

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