On the morning of March 27, 2023, gunfire erupted in an alley behind the 3000 block of Iowa Avenue in the Benton Park West neighborhood of St. Louis. Just before 9:00 a.m., 26-year-old Jalea Marie Loeffelman-Hunter was sitting in a vehicle with an 18-year-old male when someone opened fire on the car. A patrolling officer heard the shots, found the bullet-riddled vehicle and both victims inside, and emergency responders pronounced Jalea dead at the scene. The male companion was critically wounded and taken to a hospital; his name was not released.

Jalea, a Bellefontaine Neighbors resident and mother with a passion for candle making, was remembered by family as a free spirit. She was survived by her parents, a daughter, and eight siblings; a memorial service was held in St. Ann weeks later. Homicide detectives with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated, but no suspect or motive had been publicly identified and no arrests or charges were reported.

Did anyone in the St. Louis area see the vehicle in that alley or have information about who fired on it?