3. Mon Rai: Immigrant Shot Dead a Week Before His Daughter's Birth
Mon Rai, a 29-year-old Bhutanese national, arrived to St. Louis in the fall of 2012 from a refuge camp. In his short time here he'd found work at a 7-Eleven in south city, was mastering his English classes, and was expecting his second child. Then, while he worked the overnight shift in June, a gunman entered Rai's 7-Eleven and shot him in the back. Police are still searching for the suspect. A week after his murder, Rai's wife gave birth to their daughter -- a child who will grow up never knowing her father.
2. Ebony Jackson: Murdered Mother Found in Trunk; Baby Abandoned
Ebony Jackson was in town from Oklahoma last January when she stopped by her ex's apartment with her baby. While in the bathroom police say her former boyfriend, Dyanthany Proudie, shot her in the head. Proudie then removed Jackson's body from the apartment and placed her in the trunk of her vehicle as he and a buddy cleaned up the crime scene. Two days later the baby was found safe inside the entryway of a nearby apartment complex and Jackson's car -- with her decomposing body locked inside -- was found a few blocks away.
1. Cops: Mom Allowed Boyfriend to Rape Her Infant Daughter
What started out as an investigation into a child homicide became ever more despicable when St. Charles County investigators uncovered what they say were incriminating text messages suggesting that Jessica Howell knew her boyfriend planned to sexually assault her four-month-old baby. An autopsy showed that the baby died due to strangulation but also suffered injuries from blunt-force trauma to its head and bleeding caused by sodomy. Howell's boyfriend, Jordan Prince, allegedly told police that he'd become upset when the baby wouldn't stop crying. See also: Missouri Couple Accused Of Plotting Infant's Rape: Inside The Bizarre Public Facebook Posts
