It was another deadly year in and around St. Louis despite overall crime in the city (and region) trending down slightly in 2013. Still, no amount of policing can prevent depraved individuals from committing callous and sadistic acts of violence. The ten cases below, listed from bad to worst, attest to that. As one of the victims noted, "The world is full of heartless people."
10. Joseph Fox: Robber Kills One Brother, Shoots Another for $30 Heist
Brothers Mirza and Haris Gogic were making the most of it in America. As boys they had arrived with their parents to St. Louis from war-torn Bosnia. As adults they'd entered business together, running a convenience store in south St. Louis. The brothers were in a back room of that shop last May when they heard Mirza's girlfriend screaming for help inside the store. The brothers opened the door to see an armed robber with one hand around the girl's neck and the other pointing a gun to her head as she was made to empty the cash register. On seeing the brothers enter the store, the thief fatally shot 19-year-old Hirza in the head. Mirza, 23, took a bullet to the arm. Days later Mirza identified Joseph Fox in a police lineup. "He walked into the lineup just as cool and calm as he did right after he killed my brother," said Gogic. "My whole body was shaking." And what did Fox get in exchange for turning the Gogics' lives into a nightmare? Thirty dollars from the cash register.
9. Calvin Campbell: Ex Knives Former Girlfriend In Front of Her Kids
Calvin Campbell arrived at Sophia Moore's house in Jennings the day before Valentine's Day. A week earlier 28-year-old Sophia Moore had kicked him out of the home for good. Apparently Campbell was still stewing over the matter. Police say that once inside the home Campbell began punching Moore. When she tried to escape through a kitchen window he dragged her back inside and then stabbed her to death with a long kitchen knife. But it only gets worse. Police say Moore's two sons -- ages eight and nine -- witnessed the killing. Moore turned himself in a few hours after the murder. The boys were turned over to their biological father.
8. Adrienne Martin: Dog Torturer Brags on Facebook "I'm On a Killa Mode"
Adrienne Martin's status updates last July were shocking: "I'm on killa mode .....#killdogs.com.....today," she wrote. The following day Martin commented "#alldogsdontgoheaven.com," and a few days later she wrote "#laughingeveryday" apparently referencing news reports about a severely burned dog discovered in north St. Louis. Brownie, a pit bull mix, would soon die from its injuries. And Martin would face felony charges for animal abuse. Who's laughing now?
