Search About Newsletters Donate
Illustration of the St. Louis skyline across the river, with foliage in the foreground. Simiya Sudduth

The Marshall Project — St. Louis

Exposing abuses in the criminal justice system in St. Louis and Missouri through investigative, data and community engagement journalism.

Feature
5 Takeaways From Our Series on St. Louis Homicide Investigations
The police department has struggled to solve homicides, partly due to shoddy detective work, staffing shortages and eroding community trust.
A view from above the awning of the St. Louis Police Department headquarters' entrance, where a man is standing in front of the metal doors. The man’s face is not visible.
Clockwise from top left: Mary Ann Johnson; Calvin Fletcher; Angel Mays; Erica Jones; Monthane Miller-Jones; Carlos Amos; Ronda Williams.
Feature June 7, 2024
St. Louis Homicide Cases Often Go Unsolved. Victims’ Families Want Justice.
These St. Louis families have waited years for answers. They say police seem to have forgotten their loved ones.
By Shahla Farzan, Rachel Lippmann and Brian Munoz, St. Louis Public Radio; and Tom Scheck, APM Reports
In a photo collage in tones of yellow and black and white, from left, The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) seal; two members of the St. Louis Police Department Crime Lab walking with their backs to the camera; DNA testing strips and a person using a microscope; dollar bills being cut with scissors; two members of the SLMPD overlaid on a chart that shows that in 2011, there were 921 officers and in 2024, there were 650 officers; Additional text says “Homicide numbers spiked as police staffing dropped.”
Feature June 6, 2024
As Murders Increased, St. Louis Police Struggled for Resources to Solve Cases
The city’s homicide unit has dealt with short staffing, long hours and a ballooning DNA backlog.
By Tom Scheck and Jennifer Lu, APM Reports; Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
In a photo collage, from left, a photo of Former St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer Lafeal Lawshea, a Black man; a gun in a clear plastic bag; a police vehicle; crime scene markers; Retired Sgt. Heather Taylor, a Black woman; white pills; a document from the Missouri Circuit Court that has handwriting that says “Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence is…”; and a photo of former Officer Ronald Vaughan.
Feature June 5, 2024
Some St. Louis Detectives May Have Botched Homicide Investigations
Several officers in the homicide unit faced internal complaints that they slept on the job, failed to get key evidence and lied to superiors.
By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio; Tom Scheck and Jennifer Lu, APM Reports
A Black woman with blonde hair gestures outside of an abandoned brick home and a home with white siding while wearing a white hoodie that says “Whitney’s World!” on it.
Feature June 4, 2024
In St. Louis, a Racial Disparity in Whose Killings Get Solved
In the past decade, police solved fewer than half of the homicide cases with Black victims and two-thirds of the cases with White ones.
By Tom Scheck and Jennifer Lu, APM Reports, and Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
A collage shows, from left, a gun in red tones; the St. Louis skyline in black tones; a lawsuit document showing the Metropolitan Police Department of the City of St. Louis as the plaintiff and the words “sunshine law” circled in red; the back of a St. Louis police officer in uniform; a stack of clipped bundles of papers; and in the background, a list of homicide incidents and whether the case was closed or open, with “open” circled in red.
Feature June 3, 2024
How We Reported on Homicide Investigations in St. Louis
Getting and interpreting homicide clearance data involved litigation, complex analysis and patience.
By Jennifer Lu, APM Reports, and Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
Aerial view of St. Louis, Missouri, with nearly 2,000 orange and cyan dots overlaid to represent unsolved and solved homicide cases over the past decade.
Feature June 3, 2024
Why 1,000 Homicides in St. Louis Remain Unsolved
In one of America’s deadliest cities, police have struggled to solve killings due to staffing shortages, shoddy detective work and lack of community trust.
By , The Marshall Project; Tom Scheck and Jennifer Lu, APM Reports; Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
Brian Dorsey, a White man with glasses wearing a white shirt, at the Potosi Correctional Center.
Death Sentences April 3, 2024
He Faces Execution. His Lawyers May Have Earned Less Than $4 per Hour.
Some death penalty lawyers get paid the same no matter how long they work on a case. Critics say it’s a perverse incentive when a life is at stake.
By and
An illustration shows line drawings of a person getting a COVID test, people at a city council meeting, people beautifying city streets, and a group of people in masks in the background. In the foreground are illustrations of, from left to right, a sniper rifle, a police K-9, police officers in riot gear, and a person receiving a bonus check.
Analysis October 13, 2022
How A Suburb Spent COVID Relief Funds on Sniper Rifles, Tactical Helmets and Police Bonuses
An inside look at how the Independence, Missouri, city council reallocated millions in federal ARPA dollars to police.
By and
Natalie DePriest, who said she was attacked by a St. Francois County jailer, had pictures of her bruises taken several days later.
Feature July 29, 2020
Your Local Jail May Be A House of Horrors
But you probably wouldn’t know it, because sheriffs rule them with little accountability. After one man’s death in a notorious lockup, residents of a Missouri town fought back.
By
About
People
Jobs
Sitemap
Funders