On March 30, 2025, 27-year-old Mikell Rayford was found inside an apartment at the James House Apartments on St. Ferdinand Avenue in The Ville neighborhood of St. Louis with a gunshot wound to his torso. Police and emergency medical personnel responded just before midnight; Rayford’s wound proved fatal and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department opened a homicide investigation. Detectives developed a suspect and on April 23, 2025, 44-year-old Johnny Hayes Jr. was arrested. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Hayes with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm, alleging an intentional killing involving a deadly weapon. The precise circumstances inside the apartment that led to the shooting have not been released.

If anyone saw or heard anything in the James House Apartments area that night, or has information about Rayford’s killing, please come forward to assist the ongoing investigation.