On the night of October 15, 2017, 31-year-old Lovecia Jones was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Grand Motel on North Grand Boulevard in St. Louis. Jones had traveled from St. Peters and was standing in the lot about 9:00 p.m. when witnesses say she argued with an unidentified man who then produced a firearm and fired multiple times. The shooter fled on foot and Jones was taken to a nearby hospital but died shortly after arrival.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police homicide detectives searched the scene and reviewed motel surveillance, but the footage did not yield clear images to identify the attacker. Witnesses gave a description of a male seen arguing with Jones who was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. The case has remained open and has appeared on local unsolved homicide lists and Crime Stoppers bulletins.

Jones’s mother, Idella Becks, and her community remembered her as a vibrant woman who had recently started a cleaning business and had a memorable smile. No arrests have been announced and the person responsible has not been identified. If anyone has information about the argument that night or the man in the red hooded sweatshirt, please come forward.