Tequila Brandy Sandford was 26 when she was killed by a gunshot wound to the head in the early morning of December 27, 2012, on Oakland Avenue in the Dogtown neighborhood of St. Louis. A male companion in his mid-twenties was also found with a gunshot wound to the head and taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Investigators quickly focused on Sandford’s ex-boyfriend, Frederick Howard, who was already jailed on aggravated stalking charges involving her and had been in custody for more than a year. Howard’s lawyers sought a bail reduction; Sandford’s mother opposed it and a judge denied the request. On January 25, 2013, police arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with the double shooting but no formal charges were announced then, and to date no one has been formally charged in Sandford’s murder.

Anyone who knew Tequila or who has information about the shooting on December 27, 2012, is asked to come forward.