EAST ST. LOUIS — A teenage girl is in custody in the mass murder of five of her family members, and a teen boy is with the killings as well as dismembering a human body, Illinois State Police said.
Police said seven relatives were shot in multiple different locations in East St. Louis over the weekend, with five family members killed.
According to state police, 16-year-old Ja’ymier Davis faces five counts of first-degree murder and multiple other felonies. A juvenile petition was filed against the 15-year-old girl, whose name was not released, and the St. Clair County State’s Attorney will request that her case be transferred to adult criminal court, police said.
ISP said East St. Louis police requested the help of ISP's Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG) after "human remains" were found at the Samuel Gompers Homes public housing complex. The victim was later identified as 49-year-old Cherie L. May.
State police said a "swift and thorough investigation" also revealed that four other family members—25-year-old Shania W. Thompson, 24-year-old Devin May, 21-year-old Quentin L. Thompson and 74-year-old Patricia A. May—had been shot and killed at multiple locations in the city.
Two other victims were injured in the shootings and were taken to local hospitals.
All the victims are related to the 15-year-old girl, state police said.
On Tuesday, St. Clair County State's Attorney James Gomric approved five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of dismembering a human body and one count of unlawful use of a stolen firearm against Davis. Davis is charged as an adult and is being held at the St. Clair County Jail, state police said.
According to court filings, most of the killings happened over the weekend, but 49-year-old Cherie May had been shot days earlier, the Associated Press reported, saying that Davis is also accused of cutting off the thumb of 74-year-old Patricia May.
State police did not reveal a motive for the killings, but the girl's father told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch she was angry with family and plotted the slayings with her boyfriend.
May said he lost a nephew, two stepchildren, his mother and his sister in the slayings.
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