Shelby Polk III was 35 when he was found shot on the evening of July 19, 2015, in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. He was discovered after the car he was in crashed into a police vehicle; the circumstances that led to the shooting remain unclear. Polk died of his injuries, one of several homicides during a violent weekend in the city.

The investigation faced significant challenges and grew cold. No suspects were publicly identified and no arrests were ever announced, leaving his death officially unsolved. The case is also part of a larger, tragic pattern for the Polk family: Shelby Polk Jr. was shot to death in 2007, and Shelby Polk III’s son, Shelbyon Polk, was killed in 2017. All three homicides remain unsolved.

Anyone who knew Shelby Polk III or who has information about the July 19, 2015 shooting in Soulard is asked to come forward.