Carter Bennett was a 16-year-old St. Charles High School junior found dead in his bed on September 29, 2025, in Saint Charles, Missouri. Friends who could not reach him for several days asked for welfare checks; on the second check officers noticed a foul odor and discovered Carter’s body. He sustained multiple gunshot and stab wounds, and a bloody kitchen knife was found on the bed beside him.

Police focused on Carter’s mother, 47-year-old Krista Roy. Roy was hospitalized the same day with apparent self-inflicted wounds and after her release was taken into custody. According to prosecutors, she admitted to getting a pistol from her ex-husband’s home, shooting Carter while he slept, then lying with him as he called for his mother before stabbing him multiple times to make sure he died. Roy has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action and is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.

A growing memorial and a candlelight vigil have formed in Saint Charles for a teen remembered as passionate, witty, and a lover of nature and animals. If anyone knew Carter or has information relevant to the case, please come forward.