On the morning of September 17, 2021, Jamie Willard, a 30-year-old woman from Fenton, Missouri, was shot and killed inside a vacant house in Saint-Louis’s Fairground neighborhood. The shooting occurred about 1:30 a.m. in the 2900 block of Kossuth Avenue. Patrice Wimbley, 31, was also killed; a third woman, Mercedes Spencer, was shot in both legs and survived by playing dead.

Survivor testimony describes a man bursting into the abandoned home and opening fire. According to that testimony, the shooter fired at Jamie Willard first; his pistol then jammed and, after switching to a revolver, he shot Wimbley and wounded Spencer in the legs. The surviving victim later identified Charles Anderson as the shooter, and prosecutors presented eyewitness testimony, ballistic analysis, phone records, and text messages at trial.

Those who knew Jamie Willard remembered her as having a sparkling personality and a beautiful heart that lit up a room. If anyone has information about the events that night or knew Jamie, please come forward.