Overview
- Police found 7-month-old Kiyomi Parker with a gunshot wound and rushed her to a hospital where she later died after officers responded to a home in the Baden neighborhood on June 26.
- St. Louis detectives say an unnamed 10-year-old retrieved a firearm hidden under a mattress and admitted to firing the shot; juvenile courts have charged him with first-degree murder.
- The baby’s father, 19-year-old Ca’Marion Pawnell, was arrested and faces second-degree felony murder and multiple child-endangerment counts after investigators say he stored the gun where children could reach it.
- Homicide and Child Abuse detectives continue to investigate using witness statements and a probable-cause affidavit while coordinating with Juvenile Courts on next steps in the case.
- The case highlights two policy points: Missouri has no statutory minimum age to charge a child with a serious felony and a 2024 law bars certifying children under 12 as adults for prosecution, prompting calls for stricter safe-storage practices.