A Saturday trip turned deadly for 36-year-old Rita Williams. On February 1, 2025, Williams was riding in a car with longtime friend and roommate Bessie Thomas, 47, and a third person when an argument began. Williams was in the front passenger seat and Thomas was in the back; as Williams turned to face the backseat the dispute escalated and Thomas produced a gun and shot Williams once in the head. The driver then took the vehicle to a QuikTrip at South Vandeventer and Chouteau avenues, where police and emergency services arrived about 4:55 PM and pronounced Williams dead at the scene.

Thomas was arrested near the scene and initially charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a weapon; court papers said Williams was unarmed and Thomas had a 2007 felony conviction that barred legal gun possession. Family in court remembered Williams as a corrections officer for the city of Jennings and a devoted mother of four.

Did anyone in the St. Louis area know Rita or have information about that afternoon that could shed light on what happened?