Five Members of One Black Family in East St. Louis Were Killed. Now A Boy and a Girl Are Charged

What happened in East St. Louis recently has shaken its Black community to its core. Five members of one family spanning three generations, including a 74-year-old grandmother, were killed. Even more distressing, the two people authorities say are behind the killings, two teens, a 15-year-old girl accused of plotting the executions and a boy, only a year older.

What began as a missing persons investigation has evolved into one of the deadliest family tragedies East St. Louis has seen in recent memory.

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said the investigation began Sunday (July 12) when officers responded to a report of human remains at the Samuel Gompers Homes public housing complex. As investigators continued searching, they discovered four more victims at two additional locations, revealing what authorities described as a targeted attack against members of the same family.

The department identified the victims as 74-year-old Patricia May, 49-year-old Cherie May, 25-year-old Shania Thompson, 24-year-old Devin May and 21-year-old Quentin Thompson. Two other relatives survived the violence and were hospitalized with serious injuries.

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Prosecutors have charged 16-year-old Ja’ymier Davis as an adult with five counts of first-degree murder, along with attempted murder and several additional felony charges, including aggravated vehicular hijacking, unlawful possession of a stolen firearm and dismembering a human body.

A 15-year-old girl, who authorities say is related to the victims, also has been charged in juvenile court. Prosecutors are expected to seek to have her tried as an adult.

Marcus May, the father of the 15-year-old, told local news that his daughter was upset with family members when she allegedly began plotting the attacks with Davis, her boyfriend.

“I can’t show her no sympathy,” May said, according to CBS News. “She chose to do this.”

While investigators have not publicly identified a motive, officials say the killings do not appear to have been random. Instead, authorities believe the victims were specifically targeted, though they have released few details about what may have led to the violence.

The sheer scale of the tragedy has stunned residents of East St. Louis, where multiple generations of one family were lost in what authorities describe as a single criminal investigation. Friends and neighbors have remembered the victims as close relatives whose deaths have left an immeasurable void in their community.

“It’s unfortunate what happened. There’s really a loss for words. Nobody can prepare for another family member massacring the rest of your family members,” one of the suspect’s cousins, Miranda May, told WAFB.

As investigators continue processing evidence and interviewing witnesses, many questions remain unanswered, including what unfolded in the days before the killings and what investigators believe sparked the violence.

A GoFundMe has also been set up to help the family pay for funeral costs.