Richard Darren Emery Of St Charles, Missouri Shot And Killed His Girlfriend And Her Entire Family
46-year-old Richard Darren Emery of St. Charles, Missouri faces 15 criminal charges today after abandoning his truck and attempting to steal a woman’s vehicle. He later violently attacked her, causing her to sustain several stab wounds. Following the assault, he returned home to where his 39-year-old girlfriend, her children, and her mother lived. Emery shot and killed his girlfriend without any apparent motive. He then proceeded to shoot her children, 8-year-old Zoe Kasten, her 10-year-old brother Jonathan Kasten, and their 61-year-old grandmother Jane Moeckel. All four victims involved in the incident are now dead, according to Fox News.
Law enforcement promptly arrived at the scene of the crime where they engaged in a shootout with Emery, who allegedly received multiple gunshot wounds. Despite his injuries, he was still able to flee the scene and get to his own vehicle. Police at the scene said that the area was dark and wooded, aiding in Emery’s escape. Strangely enough, the hideout he chose was a bathroom at a local convenience store. He hid there for several hours before eventually being captured by police and taken into custody. He is still in the hospital being treated for his various wounds.
A St. Louis-area man has been charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend, her two children and her mother in a home they shared. https://t.co/ZeVA0FNYPy
— WSAW (@WSAW) December 30, 2018
Prosecutors charged the 46-year-old with first degree murder, assault, and attempted robbery. The woman whom he attempted to rob and later attacked suffered grave injuries but is expected to recover. Meanwhile, the community is shaken by the heartlessness of the crime and the innocence lost. They are still looking for the motive behind what caused Emery’s violent outburst. “We may never know,” St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar said during a news conference. “This one in particular was the worst example of a domestic violence case. Anytime you have a domestic violence case you worry about the safety of the victim, and this would be your worst nightmare.”
The community of St. Charles is disgusted by the man’s crime spree and would like to see him sentenced to life in prison. Each of the charges Emery faces is typically associated with 30 years in prison each. However, it is too soon to say whether or not the criminal’s sentence will be greater than that. Attorney Tim Lohmar would not be surprised if it ends up being a death penalty case. “It’s premature for us to make any sort of pronouncement about that right now, but I can tell you this thing looks and smells like a death penalty case,” he said.
